Mage and Theif
by BeastX
Summary: In the land of Dracul, most people use one of the many types of dragon magic, some devote their focuses on simpler tasks, and some have power beyond belief. Magical world AU. Rufflegs is you either squint or want it. Definite Hiccstrid and Tufflout.
1. Chapter 1

So my followers will probs know this. I was challenged by a friend to do sample chapters for Hiccstrid. One an AU modern, the other had to involve magic. You'll notice that this chapter is longer than most of mine, that's because of an unforeseen circumstance preventing me from uploading. Hope you enjoy.

This is my favorite time of year. The kingdom wide quest tournament. Each guild comes to see the best among them and the best among us all. I've been watching, learning about their fighting styles. I'm from the Nadder guild. We specialize in daggers. knives and other small sharp weapons. Though we may not be the most powerful we are wise. Of course, with our wisdom comes the vanity that runs through our veins. Naturally, we are assassins, mercenaries, and thieves. Every once in a while one guild will overtake another, increasing in both strength and skill. Under us are the Rumble horns and the Changewings. Trackers and Masters of disguise, what more could we ask for?

Then there is the boulder clan. True they are not fast, but they are strong. When pushed too far or threatened, they are brutal warriors. Even so, they take some serious punishment before hand. Under their flag are the Grunkles, the Whispering Deaths, the Hotburples and they are led by the rare but strong Screaming Deaths.

Next is the Tidal Clan, they aren't so much vicious as they are territorial. They reign over thee coastal and island regions of the kingdom. Under their flag runs the Thunderdrums, the Seashockers, and the Scauldrons. They have a council that only convene when they absolutely have to.

Then there is the Mystery Clan. These are some nasty sons of bitches. You hire the Nadder Clan when you want some one dead, quick and easy. You call the Mystery clan when you don't give a damn about collateral damage. These men and women are well versed in poisons, explosives and wide brought horror. Under this flag are the Zipplebacks, Snaptrappers, Smothering Smokebreaths, and the Flightmares. Their leader is a Flightmare I know too well. The Changewings once lived under this clans rule. My father was the Nadders ruler when we annexed them. Not only did we do it for a reason, unlike most, we did it because the asked us too. Nonetheless, that man killed my father, true there was no proof besides a faint poison resting in my father's paralyzed body. I swore vengeance. Embarrassment upon his people would have to do for now.

Finally the stoker clan, there all about brute force and complete destruction. We all suspect that one day they will try to challenge the king for his seat of power. Under this flag are the Monstrous Nightmares, the Fireworms, the Terrible Terrors, the Typhoomerangs, and Hobblegrunts. They are ruled by a cruel and sadistic woman who goes merely by the name of the clan she once came from. The Red Death. She slaughtered her own kind in her search for power, unfortunately, she got it.

The last clan is a powerful one. They sit closest to the queen and king. Not out of favoritism but out of respect and as a way to seek counsel. They are the Sharp clan. Here lies the Storm Cutters, the Speed Stingers and the Timberjacks. All of which peaceful like the Boulders but when provoked, fierce like the Stokers. They only annexed one clan. A fierce and wild one that tried to overtake them. They are a mystery wrapped in an enigma. They are the Skrill. They summon lightning itself to do their bidding. but their rashness made them ignorant. They were defeated. Now few still follow their ways.

I look around the large Hall. All the Clans here, ready to challenge each other. The top five competitors would go on a quest on behalf of the royal family. The King was a Bewilderbeast. An old tribe that could create ice from their breath and held the mightiest of weapons. I watched all of the competition with an unrelenting eye. So much so that I was sought for counsel whenever a fellow guild member would be fighting. The festivities were about to start. As two Timberjacks closed the doors with a mighty blast from their wind magic, I thought I saw a black figure dart inside. I tried to follow it but it dissappeared. It took a little bit before I fully reassured myself it was nothing, still I stay on guard. The king stands, and as he does so do we. Before he begins I recite the mantra that I have been saying every year. "I am Astrid, of the Nadder clan and I will be victorious!"

With that mental exclamation, the king began. His voice was deep and he always spoke in a tone that could be taken as either foreboding or comforting. "People of Kingdom Dracul¹, welcome to-"

HICCUPS POV

"-the 417th annual quest tournament!" The large room I was in erupted with cheers. Tournament? I was here for the king and nothing else. I needed to get him alone first. I decided to wait up in the rafters where I've taken my as well listen to what he has to say.


	2. Chapter 2

The King gave the same speech he gives every year. Tedious in his own right but inspiring nonetheless. I knew I wasn't fighting this year but it felt great to repeat 'I am a Nadder, and I will be victorious.' As each of my comrades went into the arena. The fights aren't allowed to be watched by the public, but practices were fair game. When I was younger and I had faith in the other tribes I was friends with a whispering death boy. I didn't know what made me befriend him but he was a dear friend. he was older than me and the year before my father died he won the tournament and went on his quest with his own group of victors. He did not make it back. Fortunately, in the mean time he had made a tunnel from a secluded area in the far corner of the room that led directly to a secret viewing area. Long abandoned and prime for use. As I made my way to the entrance my heart raced knowing I would partake in my yearly guilty pleasure. I moved the ratty old flag from the entrance hole and crawled through.

As I exited the hole I nearly recoiled when I noticed that another person was in the viewing area. This place was high off the ground. It was a steep climb in the tunnel. The only other way that someone could get up here was with the king's permission or an uncanny ability to stealthily climb up here and drop down from the connecting roof. There were many chambers here, but since all dragon clans knew fire magic we need to keep the place ventilated. So we have high interconnected ceilings that all lead to a near impenetrable vent in the main chamber.

The figure had long, brown, wavy hair. He was tall, a little taller than me, and... skinny? No. Lean. He had muscle but his figure could easily confuse that for pure skin and bones. His skin seemed slightly pink, as if he'd been sun kissed for the first time after a long cold season. His back was to me so I couldn't tell much else about his face. What I could say was that he wore a long black cape. The kind that you could wrap around your body a time and a half both ways.

He turned slightly so I ducked behind a corner still peeking at him.

"You can come out now." I said to the dancing shadows, I figured I would eventually be caught by the guards. Imagine my surprise when a young girl came into view, looking quite guilty. "What are you doing here?" I said trying to stay calm.

The stony coolness of his voice threw me off. I knew the king's guards were supposed to be ever vigilant and calm but, he seemed dangerous with his utter lack of expression. "L-listen, I know I'm not supposed to be here," I said slowly looking up towards his face. He was young. Maybe a month or so older than me. If my old friend Bertha taught me anything it was how to turn what you were given as a body into a weapon. "But I just really wanted to see the fights..." I said in a poor attempt at a sultry, seductive voice. I figured I must of messed up, but then I saw him take a step back. It was working.

"Can't you just let me stay here and watch..., with you?" With every step I moved closer, eventually resting a limp hand onto his chest. As a finishing touch I let my hand slowly trail off of him. His chest felt rigid, not exactly muscles but some kind of tone was definitely there.

This girl was a seductress beyond anything he had described. She swayed as she approached me and he voice was like a warm velvet. He said my power would attract them if I ever ventured here but I never assumed they would be so powerful..., or so pretty.

"I s-suppose you could come and watch with me." I said doing my best not to entice my name sake. I started take long exhales with very short inhales, as I taught myself to do. I walked towards the viewing area and she followed. I calmed down as we watched the final preparations to the arena be done. "So what is your name..." I said taking a moment to notice her clothes and check her skin for markings. Quickly I noticed the blues and hues of purple and gray that are common among the nadders and then say the tattoo. A picturesque depiction of a Nadder, the dragon from which they get their namesake. "...Nadder?"

I saw no harm in telling this man my name. He clearly wasn't going to report me and he seemed a kind enough soul so I did. "Hofferson"

"Ah, so surnames only. I suppose that makes me Haddock. It's nice to meet you Hofferson."

"You too, Haddock." I shook his hand and as our hands touched I no doubt noticeably relaxed. However, at the same time I heard something almost high pitched emanate from his throat.

"Uh, excuse me milady. I have to excuse myself." As he got up I tried to follow. "No!" he yelled followed by another strange noise. "You wait here." another.

I sat back down and thought to myself that that Haddock boy was strange but... in a good way.

Damn. Damn, damn, damn! I did it again. Since I was young whenever I'm stressed, upset, any kind of negative emotion besides anger, I hiccup! I shouldn't be surprised my mother gave me that nickname after doing it instead of crying on my "actual" birthday. I should just forget that girl. I need to find the king.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I said I wouldn't upload a chapter without one for the other fics but I just finished this and its long, and I think I did really well on it. **

**Here you go ;P I hope you enjoy.**

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The tournament went off without a hitch. Usually there is at least a small maiming, maybe an overconfident or under aged competitor died, but not this time. In return, next year's competitors were told to stay here with the trainer. Said to be descended from Bork himself. He (Bork) was the first to hypothesis about using dragon magic and techniques. By putting his life at risk to study those dragons he eventually learned some of their tricks. Never truly mastering one style like what has become popular. This year, only six students have decided to stay. While training with this man, Gobber, promised its own benefits, they could get more specialized training in their own villages.

Astrid's POV

"Alright young'uns, time te get started," said the large man in front of us. There is only five of us this year. I thought more from the clans would be ready for this level of training. I guess I'm just looking at my competition for next year. "Everyone give yer' name, clan, and magic style."

The man pointed a large metal hook at a thick boy on the other side of the line. I bet he's a boulder class. "Uh, um, Fishlegs Ingerman, sir. I'm a Gronkle fighter of the Boulder clan." I so called that.

"Alright next," he said pointing the hook to a muscley boy next to Fishlegs. He looks like he doesn't have the brain to even out his magic style.

"I'm Snotlout Jorgenson, I'm a Monstrous Nightmare of the Stoker clan!" He said his voice booming and full of pride.

"Ooh, looks like we got a powerhouse!" Gobber says with excitement.

"Yeah, I'm so awesome I got a fan club back home, so if you ladies want some of this then you better get your fill during training!" Yells Snoutlout gesturing to all of him.

I doubt he can utilize that fire power. Even the best Nightmare users have a tendency to burn themselves when they lose concentration. I've seen it happen sometimes it's hilarious and sometimes it is deadly.

"Hey, look at us now" said a raspy male voice, "Yeah were important too", added a gruff female voice. I looked to my left and saw an obnoxious duo grappling each other. "I'm Ruff of the Mystery clan," When I heard those words my blood filled with rage. "And I'm the better half, Tuff. We're a Zippleback Team."

Zippleback style was powerful but not very popular. If your team mate was injured or could not continue the tournament for whatever reason then you were not able to continue. The same rules applied to the even less popular Snap trapper teams of four. I looked at them trying to figure out if they were important enough to have an in with the Flightmare clan leader. After she stole his helmet only to smash it back on his head I doubted it. They were simply idiots.

"Aye, well then what about you missy?" Gobber said finally pointing his hook at me. I stood tall and with pride stared his metal appendage down.

"I am Astrid Hofferson of the Nadder Clan. I fight with my namesake. I am also heir to the tribe." I said slowly turning to Ruff and Tuff seeing if my status and what their clan meant to me fazed them. Instead of being taken aback or having their eyes fill with hate, they were having a wrestling match. I don't know why I bothered. They clearly weren't useful.

"You can be princess doll face," said a slimy deep voice. I turned with disgust to Snotlout. Before I could punch him myself I felt a wave of murderous intent from behind me. Normally, I would have turned around but instead I could move. Was it the Flightmare? Had he finally come for me since I'm a witness. If so I'm ready for it. Bring it on. I forced my body around to see... nothing.

"Huh," I said out loud.

"Aye, good senses Astrid." Gobber said continuing in the direction I felt that dark aura. "This year we have a, uh, special case." Gobber walked to the far edge of the circular room and pointed upward. "This is him. He is an Outlander. Or a least he was."

I forced myself to stifle a gasp, I've never heard of a dragon style that gave anyone enough agility to walk the rafters. Only a Nadder could come close and I wouldn't dare. The temperature alone could fry someone alive. King Bewliderbeast's Ice could only cool so much from underground. I searched about wildly. Then another realization hit me. He was supposed to be an ex-outlander. Outlanders are those that wish outside of the King's protection. Either viewing each other as equals or letting a leader emerge amongst themselves. Either way, this may turn out to be interesting after all. Maybe he's the competition I've been hoping for.

"Aye! Come on you!" Gobber yelled from the ground to the ceiling. "We don't have all day."

Then, as Gobber let the last syllable fall from his lips I felt someone drop behind me. I turned ready to pull out my axe. I was surprised to find a skinny boy behind me.

"Hey, what the hell!" Snotlout guffawed. I looked to the boy's hand to see it clutching Sotlout's meaty paws. It was dangerously close to my ass. "I was just trying to have a little fun!" Snotlout defended unable to stop the sly grin from streching across his face

Rage started to rise from my deepest of emotional recesses. This skinny kid must have sensed it because he stepped out of the way right before I punched Snotlout square in the jaw. I whipped around the rage still pooling to see the apparent, how do you say, 'preventer of molestation'. He looked at me with a worried face but calm eyes. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but he looked familiar. Realizing his face was changing into the fearful look I knew far to well from my time at home, I calmed down to the best of my ability. Now calm I gave my most sincere, "Thank you." That seemed to get him to relax. Snotlout got up and gave us both a shrug as if he wouldn't be badly bruised in the morning.

"Well then, not that that wasn't entertainin' it wasn't exactly an introduction. Give yer name, clan and fightin' style if ye' can."

"Um," he was clearly nervous. Whether about his lineage or what just happened I'm not sure. "Well on my dad's side, my grandmother was a thunderdrum and my grandfather was a rumblehorn. He was a rumblehorn. My mom was an orphan but she herself was a Borkian and a master at that. If you truly want a classification for her, her style was a mix of Storm Cutter and Bewilderbeast.

I was generally impressed. Borkians were those who wanted to study multiple types of dragon style making their own style out of it. To even scratch the surface of Bewilderbeast magic was an astonding feat, and then to combine it with Storm Cutter style was... well it was unheard of. She was truly a master. "Wait... was?" I said before I could stop myself.

Only for a second did you see his face fall in sad rememberance. I felt... sorry? It wasn't something Nadders felt often. "Y-yeah, my parents died in a raid on our settlement. If anyone else survived then I'm unaware of it." He was silent for a little bit then continued. "I was in the fields painting when it happened."

"So you screwed up and now your families dead. Can we get back to my problems? I think the porcelain doll over here broke my jaw." Snotlout piped in. I was ready to punch him again but before I could I felt that same dark aura. Taking a wild guess I stepped out of the boy's way. It was a good thing too because no sooner than I did did a bolt of plasma ripple through the air, put a hole through Snotlout's helmet, knocking him on his ass, and proceed to go through the wall on the other side of the arena. What style did he have? I know that regardless of my years of research I had never seen anyone do that.

"Alright I think you two better separate before one of ye' dies." Gobber says eyeing Snotlout.

"That was sick!" The twins recite at the same time.

"Incredible" Fishlegs said breathlessly.

Snotlout and I stayed quiet. Obviously for different reasons.

"That's enough exicitement. Tommorow is our first lesson. For now go to yer' chanmbers. I'll show ye' where to go." With that Gobber led us out of the arena. "Ye'll be called for dinner, until the please don't go exploring. They already have to clean from the cheifs' feast and you lot would just add o the mess."

Each of us got our own rooms on a hallway not far from the arena. On the left was Snotlout, Fishlegs and the mystery boy. On the right was Ruff, Tuff, and Me. At the end of the hall was the bathrooms.

"See ye' all at Dinner." Gobber called from down the hall, most likely going to his room. I knew one thing for sure. I needed to learn everything I could from Gobber, and everything I could about this mystery boy. Starting with what style he uses. Oh, and his name might be nice too.


	4. Chapter 4

Now came the time I was fearing most of all. The time my mother warned me about. The only reason I hesitated coming here. The formal dinners. For these formal dinners, every gentleman was to wear there finest clothes, and every woman was to wear their best dress. I have only every had one dress. It was during Bertha's training for seduction. It was tight and uncomfortable and I hated every itchy, horrid piece of it. But again it was my only dress. I reluctantly put on the tiny, red monstrosity and put my hair in a simple bun. To tie my hair together was a long, thick needle. On said needle was a small button that when pressed turned it into an excellent knife. It was more a habit than a fashion choice. As I stepped outside my door, the mystery boy stepped through his across the hall. He was wearing a black silk shirt and dark trousers.

"Hi, Astrid" he says automatically as if he was practicing my name.

"Hi,…" I was really sick of this, "you never told us your name."

"Oh, um, H-Henry Hiccup Horrendous Haddock" he says after a pause of pure hesitation. "Horrible I know but it has its reasons."

"Well thank you, um, Hiccup was one of those right?" I said hopping I wasn't mistaken.

"Uh, yeah" he says hanging his head in defeat.

"Well lets go to dinner." I turn towards the main hall and nearly rip my dress taking a naturally longer stride than what my horrendous outfit would allow.

"You don't look very comfortable in that." Hiccup said not out of rudeness but more as an honest observation dripping with curiosity.

"Yeah" I said unintentionally straining my voice while trying to balance myself.

We walked for a bit in silence and eventually crossed paths with a young timberjack carrying a large bundle of cloth. For some reason the wind based magic that the timberjacks favored effected their bodies. Their arms become longer than what is accepted as average and their very skilled with their hands. I wouldn't be surprised if she was going to make something with that cloth and nothing else. I continued walking but paused when I realized that Hiccup had disappeared. I turned around to find him in a deep conversation with the Timberjack girl. Soon before I was going to just leave him there he sped up to catch up to me.

"Sorry about that." Hiccup said in a shallow breath.

"Don't mention it" I said trying to keep my cool and pretend like I wasn't straining to breath.

We entered the dinning hall at the same time. Not together but I'm sure an onlooker would assume it as such. That is assuming that was the reason behind Fishlegs doing a spit take with some orange drink he had halfway down his gullet.

Hiccup sat Next to Fishlegs and I sat next to him. On the opposite side of Fishlegs was Gobber and on his other side was Snotlout. Fishlegs was in a dark brown three piece suit that was a size too small for him. I paid less attention to him than Hiccup did who seemed to be fascinated with Fishleg's attire. Snotlout was in a tan blazer with a warm undertone. I couldn't see his pants. I was going to try to look either way who knows what hell think if he sees me eyeing his area below the belt.

One moment later Ruffnut and Tuffnut came in the doors wearing matching forest and swamp green attire. Both in male clothes though. It was no small secret that gender meant very little to the Mystery Clan. Same sex, Polyamorous, Polygamous, and Heterosexual marriages were all completely normal to them. If you really need a definition, think of it as a clan full of demisexuals, gender fluid, and pansexuals. They walked side by side and sat at the opposite side of Snotlout who just noticed me. Naturally, I flipped him off when he winked at me earning a snicker from Hiccup.

Al'right, Al'right," Gobber said trying to quell the commotion bound to happen soon, "now that everyone is here how 'bout our special guest from the outlands do the honour of lighting the candles." We all looked at Hiccup who needed a second to realize he was the subject of our attention. Without another word he got up and went to the other side of the table. "Hold it boy, do we need to move?" Gobber asked as an honest concern. Dragon fire could be anything from a wide spread to a thin stream. if anything this would give me a hint to his magic.

"No, you're fine where you are." He said find a spot farther back from the table. I realize now he was getting all the candles in his sight. Hiccup slowly turned around the room, gathering his surroundings. Then I noticed as the faint glow of his green eyes went out as he closed them. Raising both hands in front of his eyes, he snapped his finger and every candle in the room lit. Sparking a familiar bright bluish purple before becoming the familiar mix of red and orange and yellow. I looked around seeing not only had he lit the candles on the table but also the ones surrounding the room in the elaborate fixtures. I tried rolling my eyes to look unimpressed only to find he managed to light the mural. Note that this isn't just the formal dining room but also the ceremony room. The ceiling was engraved with carving of each of the ancient dragons. Where each of their eyes were placed was a candle. Now the mural was erupting with a vibrant essence of life.

"Wow", I said breathlessly looking up. I was so wrapped up in the mural I didn't notice Hiccup sit down. I was however awoken by the sound of Gobber's voice.

"Aye, not bad for an outlander 'ey," I was stirred faster than the others who were still wrapped up in the elegance of the room. "Say boy, you never did tell us 'yer fightin' style."

Hiccup looked annoyed at this question, "I don't know how to answer that."

Now I was annoyed, this was what I desperately wanted to know about the boy, "What do you mean?" I asked before Gobber could. The others seemed to be out of their daze at this point.

"I mean I don't fight in a dragon style, well one that you know of." Hiccup stated before taking a sip of ale.

Now either he had a naturally sarcastic voice or he was trying to make a crack at my intelligence.

"Oh really, try me." I said trying to match his tone.

He seemed taken aback, " W-well I was kind of, b-born with magic." A jug fell from Fishlegs hands. "To learn to control it I was taught Borkian techniques." He said now sinking into his chair.

"YOU WHAT!" Fishlegs rang out louder than any of us thought possible.

True, this was unheard of. The youngest recorded learner of a dragon style was Hunter Bay. He was a Nadder who learned his style at the age of seven. A record I missed by two months.

"W-well, it isn't like it was a blessing or something. Before my mom started training me the entire settlement thought I was a monster. Everything around me would either blow up or catch fire, and I couldn't touch the ground for my first four year cause I kept flying and-"

"I'm sorry I call bull." Snotlout called from across the table.

I had to agree this sounds a bit fishy. Flight is a high level skill. Some full grown adults have trouble with it.

Hiccup sighed as if this was nothing new. "Do. you want. to see." H said clearly annoyed.

"Yeah show us Magic Man." Snotlout said putting as much snide rudeness he could fit into five words.

Before I could direct my attention back to Hiccup he was already out of his chair. Floating really.

'Yeah, well, that's nothing. You said you could fly. " Snotlout protested trying to save his pride.

Hiccup sighed again and lifted his body higher and higher until he was at least 14 feet in the air. He then proceeded to burst at high speed, from one side of the room to the next. Finally, he slowed down to show us some loop-de-loops and a corkscrew or two. He gently floated back into his seat and as he did so I noticed that the light on the candles lowered. Without me noticing they must have gotten bigger when Hiccup let his power loose.

"A'ight enough showing off." Gobber said looking unimpressed. I wouldn't be surprised if he already knew all of Hiccups tricks. "Some of you might have guessed that breaks won't come often in this trainin'. That includes now." Gobber said a wicked smile growing on his face.

I didn't like that look.

"Tonight ye'll cook my dinner. The three who do the best will have their meals cooked by the royal chefs. The others will go to bed hungry."

I nodded. I couldn't cook well enough to brag about but... hopefully good enough to get me a spot in the top three.

Five groups of two Storm Cutters brought in portable ovens while the same number of Timberjacks brought in a plethora of cooking supplies.

"A'ight on 'yer marks, get set, cook."


	5. Chapter 5

**To anyone who is interested, you can pm me fan art to post as the covers for my stories. I will give full credit to any and all artist. Hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I enjoy writing it.**

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"Cool your wings Gobber," Snotlout belched. "What dragon fodder are you spitting?'

Gobber took a deep breath before standing up and moving around the table to stare down the oaf. "First off, ye'd be wise to learn some respect boy." The sudden seriousness in his tone was terrifying. "And second off," he said lifting his tone and going around the table once more. "While on 'yer mission or missions should 'yer services still be required, you would have to commit to the most impossible of roles."

Gobber now stood on Hiccups side of the U-shaped table. "Things people wouldn't expect you to be. Like an uncaring oaf," he says eyeing Hiccup who responded with a blank stare, "or a housemaid," he says looking at me. I suppose that it's fair enough. The only things Nadders really like to keep clean is ourselves. Things like housework and manners bored me. I mean I can't get stronger from it or anything, so why bother? "Perhaps a savage killer," he says looking at Fishlegs whose only reaction was a not so silent gulp. I suppose that would drive him to the breaking point. Some Boulder clan write off fighting entirely after their first tournament. "Or an aristocrat," now he's at the twins. These guys, have the manners of some royal court members, HA! I think not. "Perhaps even a wondrous intellect with knowledge beyond compare." And as he stops at Snotlout, it is there ladies and gentlemen where the room suddenly got darker. I look up and then at Hiccup to see him smirking and staring at his fires on the ceiling. Long range fire control. What other tricks does he have up his sleeves?

"So without further ado," Gobber says now downright giddy, "Let the training begin!"

As soon as we all realize he's serious we rush to our stations. I focus on my chicken covered in breadcrumbs and then made golden with a little Nadder fire. When I finish I look around to see what the others are doing. The twins keep snickering and Snotlout looks like he finished a while ago as he's now flirting (and failing) with the same Timberjack girl Hiccup was talking to earlier. What was her trick?

I turn to my other side to see Fishlegs franticly ringing his hands, probably nervous he didn't prepare the right dish. Finally there was Hiccup who was... dipping his finger in a bowl of water? There was a small glowing sparkle that came from the bowl that made Hiccup happy. Was he cooking with his special magic or some clan trick I didn't know? Whatever it as it wasn't Nadder.

He started lightly brushing the concoction onto whatever dish was out of my view and poured the rest into a goblet. Before I could get a better look I heard a loud *whack* from behind me. I turn just in time to see the Timberjack striding out the door and Snotlout face first in a cabinet with a bruise on his arm. At a girl.

"A'ight, that's enough time." Gobber yelled from across the room. "Put your tools down and bring your dishes up for judging.

We all lined up and waited. "First you lover boy." He said looking at Snotlout. Snotlout passed his a charred piece of meat burned beyond recognition. Gobber bit into the animal flesh only to spit out something pink. "Boy, you somehow managed to burn the outside of this... thing and keep the inside raw. Fail." Snotlout shrugged and tried his best not to storm off, heading to his room for the night.

I handed my dish to Gobber who looked a little surprised. He bit into my chicken and grew a smile that only succeeded in increasing my already brimming confidence. Not too big, not to small. Just right. "Next time just wait. Your customer or lord may want to try something else first," that stung a little after thinking I had done it perfectly. "All in all pretty good. Pass." I walked back to my seat at the table. Ready to eat after putting that effort into cooking.

"Let's see what all the snickering 'bout then." Gobber said heading to the twins. The boy, Tuffnut. I think? He handed Gobber a piece of cooked lamb wrapped in... Grass? After Gobber took a bite I could see his eyes from the other side of the room they were so big. Dragon nip. I shouldn't be surprised that a couple of Zipplebacks had some on hand. In their tribe it was not only legal but liberally used in anything from medicine to bath oils to food. "Now that is some strong stuff." Gobber said, his voice a little deeper than usual. "Regardless of my opinion of it, you two realize that this is a controlled substance in most places. Unless the person who ordered it requested it, you shouldn't cook with this stuff." He put the patty back into Tuffnut's hands and sighed. "Fail." The twins instantly lost their smiles and walked off.

"Wait stay here you two." Gobber called. "Ye' still did well. In reference to that I'll let you train with Sven the kinder chefs unlike Snotlout who will have to train with the butler Mildew." The twins smiled and sat at the benches near the entrance. Gobber walked towards Fishlegs (what kind of name is that?) as the twins proceeded to punch each other in the arm.

"Ok Fish, what ye' got." Gobber said examining the meal.

"Salt cured mutton kabobs." Fishlegs said a little nervous.

Gobber took one of the skewered chunks and popped it into his mouth... Only to spit it back out. "Boy that has enough salt to rival the seas!" Gobber said jokingly. When he saw Fishlegs start cowering his voice took a softer tone. "Look kiddo, ye' did alight. I'll let ye' train with Sven. Word to the wise, try cooking the meat with potatoes to absorb the salt if you think there's too much." Fishlegs face lit up and he rushed off to the bench next to the twins.

"A'ight boy let's see if you can pass or if Miss Hofferson will enjoy her victory in solitude." I saw now that Hiccups dish was a ham basted with whatever magic liquid he use. It was placed on a bed of lettuce and surrounded by, what appeared to be fruit. Wait, fruit? As Gobber took a bite of the slice Hiccup had prepared for him, Gobber's face lit up. He then proceeded to eat, the, entire, ham. After that Hiccup handed him the Goblet of magic water which he gladly drained. "Boy o', what was that?" Gobber asked full of enthusiasm.

"Well, I call it sweet ham, but our medicine woman called it cured ham because whenever someone ate it sped recovery wildly. Its ham baked with pineapple and cherries, then basted with some murhemfurder." Hiccup said mumbling the last word on purpose. "I guessed you had a sweet tooth."

Gobber stopped licking the rim only to ask him more. "Wait it's basted with what?"

"Well, it's um, it's kind of..." he said trailing off once more.

"Oh for the love of, its water he used magic on!" I yelled from across the room. I hate it when people mumble. He was particularly annoying to hear.

Gobber turned to me then back to Hiccup, "Is she right?"

Hiccup nodded slowly, "My mom used to check my drink whenever I touched it to see if I charmed it or not. She would call me Toothless because of how many times I spiked my drink. 'You'll be left with no teeth the amount of this stuff you drink behind my back'. I never got to convince her I lost my sweet tooth a long time ago." Hiccup smiled in remembrance of his mother. After that the room got really quiet. Even the twins stopped their game of punchies.

After so long Gobber broke the silence. "Well, it's mighty appetizing. How'd ye' know 'bout my sweet tooth?"

"I could smell your mead. It must have taken a dozen colonies of bees to make the honey for it. It was treated with strawberries and cherries. An interesting choice. There was also your moustache. You have some sugar crystals left from the dusting that was on the rim of your mug." As he explained his reasoning I tried smelling his mead but only when I stuck my nose in the mug did I notice how sweet it seemed. I also had to strain my eyes to see the sugar crystals he spoke of.

"Well, you most definitely passed." Gobber said. "Now then those who failed please report to yer training with the chefs at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Our training won't start until noon. How long yer lessons are depends on what yer teacher decides. If yer lazy they can last until the next tournament. One of the staff will wake you all at six. In the hall next to yours is the training hall. Before our lessons you can go there to warm up or blow off steam. Good night for now. If you want you can take yer dishes to your rooms." While Gobber was talking Hiccup made it back to his seat next to mine. When the others made it out of the room Gobber came over to us. "You two wait here and the chefs will come to you. I have to meet with the king so I'll be eating in his chambers. Enjoy yer evening you two." Gobber left with a sly grin I wasn't too crazy about.

I was going to interrogate Hiccup while we were alone but before I could get out my first question Gobber called from the door. "Oh and Hiccup please release the flame 'ye don't need. Some people are trying to sleep and the light from her pours all around the castle."

Hiccup then proceeded to snap his fingers in front of his eyes again. This time I paid close attention to the flame and saw the change from the familiar tones to Hiccup's strange set of purple and blue before going out. Now the only candles lit were the three in the candelabra between us while the rest of the room was plunged into darkness. As I turned back to Hiccup the thought finally occurred to me. I was going to have dinner. Alone. With a boy. In a dark room.

"Is this a date?" Hiccup said scratching the back of his neck.

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**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Shout out to my three guests and Mark Andrew for commenting. A shout out to the followers Dialga213, Dog Lover 120, Eiks88, Katie1211, Kuma-chan Bacon, LightningFlameDragonSlayer, SetNuar, TheNextShadow, The Night Maid, Zalu, acw28, and person unknown 686.**

**See you next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

First a shout out to Dialga213 for pointing out my mistake. Others might later but you were the first. Ladies and Gentlemen, Angels and Demons, Lovelies and Flamers. I apologize for the long wait. I was a fool and decide to pick a schedule for senior year that was my hardest yet. Lest! I prevail! I won't apologize for the time because it's been very difficult for me to try and type. I do feel bad about any inconvenience I have caused you all. I am attempting to have a chapter uploaded for each of my stories within the next two days. Please enjoy.

"Is this a date?" Hiccup said scratching the back of his neck.

A date? Being alone like this made me think more like a perfect place to attempt an assassination if I so chose. No exits in range, no witnesses, not enough light to see. He thought this was a date? We are here for training not romance.

"I mean, I wouldn't know." Hiccup admitted looking down.

Well there is a shocker. Sure he isn't super hunk but I thought he'd be cute enough for some girls to flock to him. I mean, he's got that whole quiet, brainy, artsy type going for him. Wait, what?!

"When I talked about it to my parents they said a date is when you stay with someone you respect to try and get closer to them. I respect you and if we talk at all we're bound to learn something about each other so..."

I mean I hadn't really thought about if he was cute or not. Now that I look at him, wait! Don't stare you'll scare him. Just from memory Astrid come on. You have been trained for perfect recall. Yeah, yeah I guess he's kind of cute. He's also powerful, that's good to have in a partner.

"Um, please say something." Hiccup asks, his voice cracking.

"Uh, no." I respond. He looks down in defeat. Usually this would please me but this... didn't? "I mean, uh, a date is more of a romantic thing. Partners try to sway each others favor through gestures of their prominence. This is just a meal."

He seemed to relax at that.

We sat in silence for a while. his eyes moving about the room, mine focused more on him.

No.

He couldn't be my partner, he's to nervous. I'd want someone more straight forward. Just not so forward that they do something of Snotlout level stupidity. No longer trying to impress I loosened my muscles and relaxed a bit.

"So you've never been on a date?" I ask nonchalantly. I didn't think of it as a big deal I just wanted more details.

"Um. no." When he looked at me I gave him a raised eyebrow, asking for more. "Well... back at my settlement, everyone my age thought I was cursed, evil, a monster, or a screw up. Believe it or not I haven't always been this smooth."

He said that last bit with enough sarcasm to count as a joke.

"Fair enough. My only excuse is that I liked training too much. That scared people." I said wondering where the food was.

"It's somewhat comforting to know that you're capable of relaxing." Hiccup said barely looking up and shooting me an unconfident half grin.

"What do you mean?" I asked, tensing up in reflex.

"See, there you go again, during the tournament, during our first meeting, during the cook-off, and even now, you're tense enough to fight at a moments notice... it's scary." He hushed that last bit after raising his voice for the first part.

"Well, I'm a Nadder, part of our discipline is to be ready at a moments notice, ready to fight and kill, at the drop of a hat." I said showing my clan's pride.

"That's the thing. The other Nadders don't have that mentality, and you, you're a, a, soldier without a battle. All you do is look for a battle that isn't there!"He said noticing the chord he struck right after. I wanted to tell him that my father's legacy was what I was fighting for, but before either of us could respond to it Hiccup turned to call attention to something else.

"Incoming in five, four, three," I got my needle knife ready and waited, "two, one." As the countdown ended the door was burst in by three men each carrying a tray of food. Part of me wanted to chastise Hiccup for being so ridiculous, the other, much stronger part of me was too hungry to care. In less than a minute, the empty space between us was covered with trays of fruit, veggies, and meats galore, along with pitchers of mead and other juices.

"Enjoy," said one of the men. After that the three left and I got ready to dig in. Hiccup on the other hand called out to the shadows.

"I think its safe now." Hiccup called.

Whatever entity he knew of was just out of my mental reach because as soon as he said that I started to sense a presence coming toward us. Soon I recognized her it was a Timberjack girl. Not just any Timberjack girl, the same one Hiccup stopped in the hall, and the same one who punched Snotlout. "Who are you?" There I go again running my big mouth.

"Camicazi, I already know you're names so I won't bother. Hiccup that thing you asked for is in your room. Hope you keep up your end." With that she left with the Timberjack speed I was expecting.

Again, before I could ask any questions, my stomach stopped me, this time with a growl. I sunk my teeth in without a second thought and Hiccup did the same.

A few hours and a few entrees later the beast within my stomach was satisfied.

"Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to offend. The only other Nadder I've known was from my village. He was... different. He asked me if I could teach him some Borkian moves. I was teaching him for a while then his Nadder father decided to take him to another village. I guess you don't view us favorably."

"It's nothing personal. Nadders take family and tradition very seriously. You threatened that by trying to break tradition. I don't take it as serious as most. My kids could train to be changweings for all I care. I just want them to stay in the same clan. Your home doesn't seem so bad. My kids could be stokers or tidals. I just would want them to be happy."

"Aw, Odinson you do have a heart." Hiccup stated sarcastically.

"Shut up!" I laughed. I knew that at the moment I could have no such dreams. I had revenged to reap. But at the moment it seemed almost natural to let Hiccup hear these fantasies.

Hiccup looked deep into my eyes as if searching for something. " Astrid what time is it?"

I looked around for an hourglass. "Almost Midnight I suppose."

Hiccup leaped up from his chair and turned his back to me. "It was lovely dining with you Ms. Hofferson."

It felt as though I was waking up from a long dream. "Uhh, right. Goodnight Hiccup."

Hiccup left without another word. I took my goblet of mead and went back to my chambers. I peeled off my dress and let my hair down for a nice brushing before bed.

I was awoken by a knock at the door.

"Rise and Shine Mistress Hofferson!"

**Hiccup POV Six Hours Earlier**

"Damn it!" I say punching my wall so hard the stone cracks. I attempt to cover it with some of the decorations in the room and hope it goes unnoticed. Whatever I am. Whatever my magic comes from. It is stronger in the witching hour.

I saw the purple and blue flames in Astrid's eyes. I was compelling her to calm herself. I need. I nee. I need to do something. I look around and see the package Camacazi left me. Perfect. I open the bag to see bolts of blue and yellow and brown fabric. I set to work on my project. I levitate the fabric and my knife. Cutting, sewing, cutting, sewing. I finished three hours later. I feel so much calmer than when I started. Expending my power always helps. I take a deep sigh and try and decide what to do now. Lots of sleepless night for... whatever the hell I am. Sleep is kind of optional for me. I think the training hall was that way... And I can drop these off on my way there. I grab my gear and head out of the door.

**Astrid POV Present**

"Oh. And do you know where Master Hiccup is?"

I jolt up at that, recalling the events of last night. "Uhm, no I don't!"

"OK. Remember training starts at noon."

"Thank you."

Well. Today should be interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

**What's this? A chapter before a six month waiting period? What is going on? well I was on a roll after last week so I continued. **

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Gobber mentioned something about prep time before we had any combat training so I just put on my blue-dyed woolen top and some pants. I figured I might as well get some early morning training in, so I grabbed my daggers. Not so much daggers as they resemble kunai more in shape. They are stained yellow and blue to match my usual attire. I was about to leave when something on the other side of my door stopped me. After opening it I saw a brown satchel. I did a quick check of the bag and it didn't seem like a trap. No wires, no pressure release, no anything. I snatched it quickly off the ground just in case.

As I brought it back into my room I was perhaps overly cautious, trying not to disturb the contents. I opened it slowly and found… cloth? No, yeah it was cloth. I pull the garment out to find it is a dress. Not just any dress. It's a sky blue silken dress with a yellow streak along the sides. Not a dyed streak. When I get so close its nearly touching my face I see that it's an entirely different fabric sewn so neatly I could hardly tell. Its loose enough where I know it won't restrict my movements any. But tight enough where I don't seem to be hiding anything under it. I feel something hard and notice black crystals of some sort sewn into the fabric. There is so much I can't really get a good feel for it. I suppose I have no choice.

I walk in front of the mirror with the thing on. I could tell you right away that it was much better than the horrid red thing I had to wear last night.

**A/N So you don't get confused by me trying to explain the dress in this world speak. It's an A-Line/Princess One-Shoulder Floor-Length Chiffon Evening Dress with Ruffle Beading in Sky Blue with Champagne and Daffodil Color Accents. It also has a Detachable Advance Elegant Long Cape Vestido De Noiva in Sky blue along where the shoulder strap meets the actual gown. **

It was… gorgeous. Drop dead gorgeous. Like I'm confident I could walk in on a mark like this and they'd die on the spot gorgeous. And this cape! It was long and swoopy. I grabbed on to the cloth on each side and lifted it. It looked almost as if I had… wings. I felt, not just deadly, not just ready for action, not just confident, but I felt… beautiful. I spun in the dress and just laughed.

My jovial attitude was disrupted by a knock on the door. It was Camicazi again. "Mistress Astrid! Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. Afterwards feel free to train with master Hiccup. It appears he's beaten you to the punch this morning."

"Uh, Um. Thank you Camicazi!" I say doing my best to take the dress off quickly without ruining it. A few fumbles later and I was back in my fighting gear from when I first arrived. If Hiccup was training too then maybe I could get some sparring in.

I walked out of the room to see a similar satchel in front of Fishlegs' door. I assume whomever made mine also saw the discomfort Fishlegs was having in his three sizes too small suit. I keep walking until I reach the mead hall again. This time it is filled with the clan members that serve or advise the king personally.

This I could get used to. Dragon Mages of all caliber dinning together. Still members of their respective clans but all subservient to the king. I could maybe find a mate who didn't see me as the poor child of the lost Clan leader. That'd be nice. And our kids could study any magic. I'd help teach them in hand to hand combat regardless. And my husband would be powerful. He'd be smart and kind. He'd be agile and swift. He'd be…

*SLAM! *

…not him.

Snotlout slammed his try onto the table. It was full of nothing but half charred meat that was somehow still bloody. "Why? Just Why?"

The twins and Fishlegs soon joined us also with their own trays. Fishlegs had lamb-steak and baked potatoes. The twins had fileted fish and fresh fruit.

"Where'd you guys get that stuff?" I ask looking around at the buffet before us. I still didn't see anything that looked like what they had.

"We had training with Sven remember? We had to take with us whatever we made. He said the three of us must have just had a fluke yesterday and excused us from training." Ruffnut informed me.

"Right. And Snotlout got Mildew." I say turning my head towards the boy and his charred meat.

"UUUUGHHHHHH! That man is a demon. A demon I tell you! He gave no instruction, he just yelled again and again telling me to get it right. How am I supposed to get it right without anyone telling me how!? All I've ever had was charred meat before. Back home when we got hungry we just grabbed whatever meat we could find and gave it a quick once over with our flames. I didn't know charred meat was bad! How was I supposed to know charred meat was bad?" Snotlout rants while force feeding himself the meat on his plate. I doubt he could finish that without getting sick.

Fishlegs being the big hearted softie he was cut off a piece of his mammoth sized steak and offered it to Snotlout. Snotlout yanked it off the fork and threw Fishlegs a cautious glance. He carefully nibbled at the steak only to start gobbling it like a starved dog. "WHAT, WAS THAT!?"

I walked off laughing and grabbed myself a baked chicken and some rice. As I turned back towards "our table" I saw Hiccup enter the Mead Hall. He was wearing the same outfit from last night but with a black metal chest guard, shoulder pads, arm bracers, and shin guards. Guess he really has been training all morning. "HICCUP!" I called.

Apparently a little too loudly. The entire hall turned towards the door. That is when the eerie silence began. As he started walking the murmuring began. The unevenness of his walk gave away how uncomfortable it made him. I guess he is big news; being an outlander and training with us didn't help. I started moving so I could meet him half way, only to be meet with a gust of wind that left me breathless. I turned to see him talking to Sven. The kind and mostly silent chef nodded and handed Hiccup a barrel. As he walked by me I could hear the contents sloshing. He turned back to me and said, "See you in the training hall?" Before I could answer He was gone in another gust of wind.

I sat back down and talked to the others about some early training in case we had another non-fighting session with Gobber. They agreed and we headed down there once we all finished. As we walked Snotlout got a few cooking tips from everyone so he might somehow satisfy Mildew tomorrow.

We enter the training hall to see Hiccup next a now empty barrel. Based on the smell I knew its contents. "Did you just eat an entire barrel of fish for breakfast?" I accuse him.

"Maaayyyybe." He responds coyly. "Are you guys here to train too?"

"Yeah, I was actually hoping to get some sparring in. One-on-one. Fight until one is forced to yield. No supervising adult. What do you think?" I explain to him.

Hiccup is blushing. Cherry tomatoes are jealous of that hue. He starts with his voice cracking, "I'm pretty sure that that isn't what I think it means."

"What do you think it means?" I ask stepping closer.

Hiccup stumbled over his barrel stepping backwards. We rush over to him to make sure he's alright. Although I highly doubt any self-respecting Dragon Mage would have gotten that badly injured from that. "Um… tha- that, um. That's my village's, uh, hem, mating ritual."

Now I have to do everything I can to hide my blushing.

"What are you talking about?" Ruffnut calls out.

"Yeah. Mystery clan's members mate freely. If we're compatible, we just go for it." Tuffnut announces smirking.

"Boulder clan chose mates based on a game of wits. Whomever we mutually find as an entertaining match usually becomes our mate for life." Fishlegs squeaks.

"Stokers choose the strongest male they can and form harems. I still have some slots available in mine if any of you are interested." Snotlout says eyeing me and Ruff while wiggling his eyebrows.

The group turns to me next. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell them. "Nadders present each other with precious stones as courtship. Or we prove that our desired mate is defenseless against us by nearly succeeding in killing them three times." I say with a sly grin. I've never had a prospective mate catch me off guard so, I suppose I can expect something shiny in my future.

"I don't suppose the tourmaline on the dress I made counts for anything?" Hiccup asked while got up from his seat on the floor. I stammer a little in thought. Hiccup made the dress. Hiccup. Made. The. Dress. And he snuck giving me precious stones into it. No. No way. I'm not accepting this.

"No, a mating gift usually requires more, um, presentation." I explained. Ceasing the murmuring of the others I continue. "So, sparring? We're evenly numbered."

"Um. Hold it sister. Tuff and I are a team. We can't fight alone." Ruff objected.

"What? Yes, you can." Hiccup retorted. We all look at him. What was he talking about? Zippleback partners fighting individually? "I'm sorry. Do you guys not do that here?" His foreigner ways are starting to come out I suppose. "I mean I'd be glad to show you how If you want. As long as me going Borkian Zippleback doesn't offend you or anything." Hiccup asked the twins.

Both their faces were filled with excitement. I guess maybe they haven't seen a Borkian do magic before. Or they were curious how Hiccup would do. "NOT AT ALL!" they yell in unison.

"Are the rest of you up for some Five on One?" Hiccup teased, taking off his chest plate and guards to match the armor less forms of the rest of us. Oh it is on. I flip to a ready position on the other side of the stadium. Kunai poised to strike. "I'll take that as a yes from Astrid. Any objections?"

No one leaves. I was surprised at Fishlegs eagerness. Must be excited to see a Borkian in action. With that some guard in the stands above us rang the gong.

Before anyone could launch a fire blast, Hiccup covered the arena in Zippleback fog. I suppose it's a side effect of his Borkian style that caused the gas to look like an ethereal mix of purple, blue, and black. In the mist he released I heard some punches being thrown and definite signs of movement. The thin veil dissipated to reveal Fishlegs pined to the wall with knives and the twins hanging upside down from where the pit turned into stands. The twins were laughing their heads off. Fish was watching in awe. All had the beginning signs of bruises, nothing fatal though. I spy Snotlout on the other side of the room holding a spiked war hammer. (**A/N: For a better look: Search King Robert's Baratheon Warhammer**.) Hiccup was standing in the same position as when we started but now smiling and holding attachable twin sai like he was very familiar with them. He's a knife wielder so that means he's swift, agile, and has good senses. Just like me.

Snotlout is the first to move. He rushes at Hiccup with his war hammer. He makes a horizontal swipe and Hiccup leaps back. He then moves in raising the hammer with both hands preparing for an overhead strike. Big mistake. Hiccup rushes before Snotlout can bring the hammer down. Hiccup manages some long cuts on Snotlout's right side. Deep enough to make him bleed but shallow enough that his dragon magic will heal him before too long. Snotlout winces in pain as the recoil of the hammer hitting the ground opens the wounds a little more. Hiccup follows through with a slice to Snotlout's shoulder. No way he can pick the hammer up now. I see an opening and make my move.

"NO!" Snotlout yells. "He's mine." He says with arrogant seriousness. I decide to let him learn his lesson and step back. Hiccup flips backward and gets in a ready stance.

Snotlout gets up gripping his injured shoulder. He starts excreting the orange fluid that lets Nightmare's ignite themselves. Hiccup's eyes widen at this and he rushes Snotlout once again. Snotlout does his best to swing his hammer one handed at the oncoming danger only for Hiccup to leap up and launches himself off the hammer, causing Snotlout to stumble forward. Hiccup flips forward mid-air and releases a spark, Igniting Snotlout. Snotlout screams in agony and fear as his body is engulfed in flames. Since he's a Dragon Mage he won't be burned but the pain is still there. But, how was a Nightmare being hurt by their body enveloped in flame. It was part of their fighting style to do so.

"The Nightmare's technique has three parts," Hiccup explained as Snotlout lost consciousness. "One, secreting the ignition fluid. Two, Mental and Physical preparation for the flames. And three, The actual ignition." He moves over to Fishlegs cautiously and asks him to take the twins down and have them carry Snotlout to the infirmary. "Usually I would have failed. However, Snotlout was angry, slowing his preparation time. I ignited Snotlout before he was prepared so his body went into shock."

With Snotlout out of the way, we refocused on each other.

"But I want to see the rest of the fight." Tuffnut complained.

"Please. These two will be fighting for another hour at least." Ruffnut commented.

"Okay." Tuffnut cheers as they exit the room.

Hiccup and I edge closer and closer until we're squared off. My kunai clinking against his sai.

He moves first. He twists his sai in an effort to release my kunai from my grip. I quickly let go and reestablish my grip. I pull away with that hand and make a stab at his abdomen. He blocks with his guarding sai. Twisting his body and slicing at my knee. I leap backward and do two backflips to increase my distance. I then throw three spare kunai aiming for his shoulders and inner thigh. I was too eager in my movements and my aim was off. With one sai he deflects the two that were closer to his chest than I calculated. The other sai catches the third kunai between the blade and side guard just before it pierces the weakest spot between his legs.

He looks at me his face a little whiter than normal and I smile apologetically. We both have started to sweat a little. I rush him and do a leaping roundhouse with my back leg, which he blocks with his forearm. He follows through crouching and palms my other leg throwing off my balance. I fall to the ground and he moves in to finish it. I sweep the ground and get him to fall as well. We grapple on the ground for a moment. We push off each other getting back on our feet. We're practically panting now.

"So this is how, your people court each other, huh?" I say between breathes.

"My father used to gloat that, he fought with my mother, for thirteen days, in a raging typhoon." Hiccup said smiling, "I was conceived, on day thirteen." He was gasping for air as much as I was. I even smiled at that. Hiccup may only have memories and mementos of family now, but at least he had good ones. I guess we have that in common.

I throw my left kunai at his right shoulder, and lunge to stab the other. He turns to avoid the thrown kunai. And uses his right sai to lead my right arm in front of him. Moving quickly, he grabs my right arm with his right hand and my left with his left. It's almost disturbing how perfectly we line up. I try to yank my arms out of his grip to no avail. I look back at him and see him smirking.

The door opens and Fish, Ruff, and Tuff walk in on us.

…

Let me rephrase that. They see us still fighting. Fish blushes, Tuff cheers, and Ruff whistles loudly. As they move to their seats, I slam my right foot on Hiccups and move my left leg to snap Hiccups knee. He sees this and let's go of my left hand and turns on the ball of his trapped foot so he's at my side, narrowly avoiding my attack.

Without his leg to make contact with I lost my balance and fall backward. He holds my back up with his left hand and twist my right arm so the kunai points at my neck. His face is dangerously close to my own. I let go of my right kunai and it bounces off my chest and onto the floor. I blast Nadder Fire which causes him to let go of me. I fall to the ground and roll away. As I recompose I notice the only damage done is his hair is singed. I, on the other hand, have scrapes above my elbows from him holding both his sai and my arms. Nothing too bad. My magic has already allowed it to heal over but my right arm is a little weakened by it.

I pull out my last two kunai and we rush each other at the same time. We end up mirror locked. His left sai blocking my right kunai and my left kunai blocking his right sai. I jerk my left kunai upward making him release his sai. With it still hooked on my blade, I arch my arm backward launching it into the wall underneath our three spectators. Before I can swing my left arm back around, he twists his left sai. The tug against my elbow makes me let go of the kunai. We step even closer, leaving one option. With only a hair length between us we both take our weapons and point them at the smalls of one another's backs. Stalemate. Or so I thought. Hiccup moves even closer with his face. I open my mouth ready to scar him with my fire, but before I can ready myself. He connects his lips to mine.

After I get over the initial shock I ask myself a number of questions. Why aren't I stopping him? Why is he kissing me? Why am I enjoying it? Wait! What was that last one? I'm not enjoying this! Why am I so dizzy? I can't. I can't.

That's when everything went black.

I woke up to a refreshing breeze made by Camicazi. Timberjack. Great when you need that fresh air magic. I shot up and see Hiccup. I rush at him only to fall short. He kneels down beside me and says, "Take it easy. The Zippleback Fog did a number on you."

What? Zippleback fog? When did he? The confusion on my face must have said a lot as he elaborated.

"When I kissed you. I blew Zippleback fog into your airway. It causes dizziness, unconsciousness, and occasionally euphoria." I stood up as did he. "If it makes you feel any better, it could have been worse. If I waited until you were ready to launch your fire and ignited you, you would have burned up from the inside."

That was the last straw. I slapped him across the face and turned to the door. On my way out I asked Camicazi to bring my kunai to my room later. I'd be there for the next couple hours until training started. He could have killed me. Ended it once and for all. I wanted to deny it. He had given me the stones. Now he spared my life. I wanted to deny it so badly but some voice deep inside me called out, "One down, two to go." And what's worse. That voice was happy about it.

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**Ladies and Gentlemen, Angels and Demons, Lovelies and Flamers. Lets get real for a sec. This is my first major fight scene so I need to know how I did because I need to get good at these for what I have planned. PLEASE COMMENT!**


	8. Chapter 8

Ladies and Gentlemen, Angels and Demons, Lovelies and Flamers. All questions or concerns may be directed to the comments or my pm inbox. Thank you for your time. I may have written "hiccup" instead of "Hiccup" a couple times and for that I apologize. Laterzzz :P.

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Camicazi came for me a few hours later. I contemplated my options. I could destroy hiccup. Make sure that the tale of someone capable of killing me reached mystery clan or mine. I could beg for his silence. Explain to him exactly what this meant to me and my people. Or… I could let him know. See if he chose to continue with his courtship. I still hadn't come to a decision.

I entered the arena again upon Camicazi's persistence. Everyone was standing there waiting, except for Snotlout who was pouting in his chair next to Gobber. "Aye, now that Lady Astrid has joined us we can begin," Gobber states drawing attention back to me. Hiccup can't look me in the eye, which is good, however the others seem to want to do nothing but. "As you know," Gobber begins saving me from further embarrassment, "Snotlout was injured from his bout with Hiccup earlier."

"I'm fine! There is no reason to have me restricted to this chair! You hear me Timberjack! Go tell your friends in the infirmary that I'm okay!" Snotlout yells.

I'm not assuming anything, I'm confident Camicazi's magic was behind Snotlout's chair falling back. And the resultant shrieks that came from him. I was a little surprised to see it was Tuffnut who helped him up though. Snotlout was thankful enough I guess but he seemed a little uncomfortable with Tuffnut touching him.

"Anyhow, since Snotlout can't fight today as scheduled, as per doctors' orders." Gobber says quickly stomping Snotlout's inevitable complaint. "He will choose today's challenge. He will also judge who does the best. I've changed the schedule a bit. For a while the theme will be trades. Occupations that you could take up along your travels or you could infiltrate a society as. In case Snotlout is biased towards anyone," Gobber says eyeing Hiccup and I, "I will be putting a limit on his power to judge. Any declines or acceptances I disagree with will be reviewed by your peers. Any questions?" Gobber finishes looking over us, giving us a chance to object. "Good, in that case, Snotlout. What is the trade today?"

I was concerned when Snotlout actually looked like he was thinking about it. Knowing him it was probably something unbearable like prostitutes, or slaves, or dancers or something. Gobber would stop him if he chose something like that right? Right? With a final nod to himself he snaps his fingers. "I've got it! You'll be artist!"

….

That's it?

…..

Seriously?

….

Okay.

"Alright then, any specifications on what these artists are commissioned for?" Gobber inquires.

Op, there it is. The evil smile I knew was coming from him. "Yes, yes I do. These wondrous artists will create a piece of art in my image."

Okay. Sounds simple enough. Make something that flatters Snotlout's enormous ego.

Hiccup raises his hand. "Is magic allowed in this challenge?"

I had to respect that Hiccup already had a plan for this challenge. "You know just because you said so, no it isn't. No fire, lightning, ice, fog or whatever. No physical manifestation of your magic."

"What about my jaw?" Fishlegs asks.

I almost forgot he was boulder clan. Depending on how his precision was he could make a decent stone statue with that thing.

"That's fine." Snotlout nodded unamused by the idea of having anyone but Hiccup struggle.

"If that's all the questions then let's begin. All of you make a list of what you need. You can either find it yourself or have the staff bring it. Either way you only have two hours to get back here. Any items not in here after two hours will be disqualified." Gobber explained. "Ready, on your mark, go!"

Hiccup sprinted out of the room as did I. I figured we were both headed for our friendly Timberjack. We were both plenty fast but I hate to admit I was only able to stay on his heels. I spied her further down our stretch of hallway and called out to her. She turned and saw us coming. With a blast of wind in our direction I was slowed enough to just prevent myself from running into her. Hiccup however continued his strides and proceeded to fall out the window.

Nix that. His form appeared in the distance flying away. Whatever he needed he knew exactly where it was. "What on earth were you two doing? Can I join next time?" The adventure lust was clear in her eyes. I don't suppose castle staff see too much action do they.

"Maybe." I tell her. Not exactly a lie but I suppose racing with her would be good training. "Listen I need help with today's challenge." I tell her. I can almost fell her excitement growing. "I need you to find all the colored glass you can and bring it to the arena, okay?"

"I'm on it Mistress Astrid!" She ran off with dragon speed that rivaled my own. Racing her would be fun.

With that I went back to the arena and waited.

The two hours were almost up as Snotlout continued to remind the almost complete room. All that was missing was Hiccup, his supplies, and …. my glass. Just as I was about to search for her, Camicazi burst through the door pulling a cart full of colored bottles and mugs. I'm surprised the kitchen was willing to part with all these.

"Thanks, Camicazi." I say to her. She smiled so widely at that. I'm a little concerned that my adrenaline inducing heist was a bit too much for her.

"One minute!" Snotlout called out.

"You might want to leave. Snotlout is in charge of this challenge and he might involve you in his kind of way if you're still here when the time is up." I warn her. Her smile fades and is replaced with a look of upmost seriousness. With a silent nod she leaves me to move my bottles to my work space. We all have a twenty-five square foot area to work in. Its blocked from Snotlout's view by cloth sheets.

"Thirty seconds." Snotlout says smirking. If Hiccup didn't show up soon he would definitely have good reason to be smirking.

I pick up a faint whistling in the distance with my dragon hearing.

"Twenty."

The twins look up as I was. The only thing above us was the skylight made from clear Bewilderbeast ice.

"Ten." There is a small black dot in the center. Fishlegs and Gobber join in the staring.

"Five." Now I'm concerned. It's grown to cover almost half the area of the circle.

"Four." A roar almost unmistakably dragon in origin.

"Three." A crash as a fire bolt cracks the ice.

"Two." Snotlout's voice is now concerned as he hears the whistling too.

"One!" Snotlout calls almost frightened. Hiccup bursts through the ice. Shattering it into a million tiny pieces.

"**NO!" **Snotlout screeched. Hiccup flips in his free fall landing on his feet and bringing a shockwave rush of wind with him.

"Did, huh, did I make it?" Hiccup asks, clearly out of breath.

"Just barely." Gobber confirms as Snotlout growls. "Now then you may begin your masterpieces."

* * *

Are you excited? I'm excited.


	9. Chapter 9

What's this? Two updates in one day, what is this? I'm on a roll and you know it.

I rush into my work space. All I gathered from Hiccups arrival is he went somewhere far enough to almost be late and he was now carrying a satchel. Snotlout is just sitting in the circle outlined by our workspace, sitting with his legs wide spread. I find the yellow bottles and mugs first. I break and crush the bits until they're small enough to work with. While Camicazi was retrieving the bottles I was gathering adhesive. Anything I could find, honey, tar, concentrated Zippleback fog, anything. I tried to avoid using that last one though. Once I placed all the yellow bits in place, I moved on to the dark colors to match his clothing. Browns, black, grays. Anything I could work with. I used the green glass to provide contrast to his chair and red as the background so it matched his Stoker taste. I placed one last crimson sparkle on the upper right corner of my canvas and called it a day. My Snotlout mosaic was finished.

I walked around the room, eyeing the competition, not too obviously of course. I leave an eye on my space at all times. Fishlegs seems to be meditating with his eyes open. Staring at Snotlout. Maybe trying t memorize his form before starting. The twins shooed me away when I tried to see their unfinished oil paintings. Naturally, the only thing the twins take seriously is something like Snotlout's challenge. That's Mystery clan for you. Curious, Mischievous, and Odd till the end. Perhaps Queen Frightmare was only trying to tickle her abused funny bone when she killed him. Unforgivable still.

Finally, I find myself with Hiccup. He's doing… something. I honestly have no idea. He's somehow made a basin out of the stone floor. His hands look like he dug it himself. There is oil in there but it's almost dried up. He's vigorously stirring some white liquid. I stay and watch for a little bit. Once the oil has dried he seems satisfied with his mixture. He then begins to put a small layer on the dried oil. It reminds me of when someone bastes a ham. Like he's treating it or preparing it for something.

He then puts his hands around the basin and lifts it upright, so the oil is facing Snotlout. The mixture didn't wet it enough to make it liquid again but it did shine wonderfully. I follow as he crosses the room. In front of my space he draws a circle in the floors dirt, then proceeds to start a fire in that spot using flint (since there is no magic this round). Next he climbs, not flies, but climbs to the ceiling rafters carrying the satchel he brought back with him. He pulls a large cloth from it and hangs it from the ceiling on a long rope that spreads into four so it connects to each corner. He drops small rocks into the canopy he's created and they strain the ropes strength.

He climbs down as strategically as he climbed up. He then makes the odd move of approaching Snotlout who has more or less fallen asleep with his eyes open. Hiccup stirs him with his voice. "Snotlout?"

"*snort* heh? Uh, I wasn't sleep! I, um, what? What do you want Hiccup?" Snotlout groaned.

"I want you to try and launch a fire ball at me." Hiccup said.

What?

"What?" Snotlout asked, now fully awake.

"You heard me. I want you to launch a fire ball at me when I say go. Unless this contradicts your rule about no magic." Hiccup said with a pretentious tone that told me it was pure reverse psychology. I doubt Snotlout would catch on.

"Um, no. I'd be happy to set you on fire for this cause." Snotlout said with a wide smile.

"Ok. Good. Now remember, be ready to shoot you fire exactly when I say 'go'." Hiccup said, almost like he was giving direction to a child.

"You got it." Snotlout said eager as ever.

"Thirty minutes left!" Gobber exclaimed.

With that Hiccup climbed back up to the rafters. Once he was on his perch he waited. And waited. And waited.

"Ten minutes left!" Gobber said not looking up from his whittling. At that point Fishlegs grabbed a boulder and started munching like a starved wild animal. The twins stared in an almost jealous awe. I dare say Ruffnut even seemed entranced.

Hiccup hugged the rafter with his legs and swooped upside down. "GO!" Hiccup said throwing a small pouch I hadn't noticed. Snotlout wasted no time launching his fire blast. However, he wasn't quick enough to fire before Hiccup's pouch reached the fire in front of my station. As blinding white light spread throughout the room, Snotlout fired a blast which went through Hiccups rope hanging the cloth. It and he landed on top of his basin. Him perched as if daring anyone to remove the tapestry.

When I could see once again, Gobber called "Time's up!"

"Hold on, he cheated!" Snotlout called as he rose from his seat.

"I did not. You said that your magic didn't go against the rules." Hiccup retorted

"Well what about yours just now?"

"That wasn't magic."

"I saw you throw a poultice," I tattled. If there was one thing I couldn't stand it was cheaters.

"That was full of manganese. Nothing more." Hiccup explained. We all gave him the wide eyed stare letting him know we didn't know what he was talking about. "When you ignite manganese, it erupts into bright white light. Which I needed for my art piece."

"Well what is it?" Snotlout inquired taking a step towards it.

Hiccup responded with a growl. "I go last." He says.

Snotlout surprisingly backs off. Instead he goes to Fishlegs' booth. Fishlegs is standing there with something covered by a small cloth. Snotlout impatiently removes it and sees a bust of himself. It is carved to an almost excruciating detail. It is so well done that it gives me the same amount of disgust as when I see the real Snotlout.

"How'd you do that?" Snotlout asks, clearly happy with the result.

"Gronkles can eat and digest rock. I have an eye for detail. A+B and 'ta-da'!" Fishlegs squeaks.

"It was magnificent!" Ruffnut calls out.

This draws Snotlout's attention to the twins. They each have a canvas covered by a sheet ready to be judged. He pulls Ruffnut's down first. "Woah!" Snotlout hollers. Ruff drew a realistic painting of Snotlout. Just shirtless and with a whole lot more muscles. "Um, approved." He then turns to Tuffnut's painting. After he removes the cloth I want to remove my eyes. Tuffnut chose the respected nude as his medium. Only with some creative liberties. Including a full blown erection.

**Think Michelangelo's David but with an overly endowed penis. Like a foot and a half in the painting. **

"Uh, hem." Snotlout clears his throat. "Flattery will get you everywhere. Approved." Snotlout informs Tuffnut. Tuffnut responds by eyeing Snot up and down and giving him a flirtatious wink. Snotlout proceeds to walk towards my booth with an increasingly red face. "Um. Your turn."

I present my mosaic of glass.

"Its nice. Improved I guess."

Nice. I guess. WHAT?!

Snotlout makes it to Hiccups spot before I can strangle him to death. "Alright smart guy. What'd you do?"

Hiccup hops off the upright basin wit a smile. He removes the blanket to reveal, the most beautiful thing anyone or thing could possibly perceive Snotlout as. It was a seamless copy of the exact moment before Snotlout blasted Hiccup's rope. It was at the angle that would be perceived from the fire. Surrounding Snotlout was some giant entity. A red shadow, with outspread wings that had definite claws at the farthest tip of them. It had a large head and Snout turned in the same direction as Snotlout. The bottom row of teeth extended past the upper jaw. It also had grand horns and bulging eyes. All merely formed in shadow mind you but it was definitely there. There was only one thing to have said to take this form. The dragon which from Snotlout's fighting style took its name. The Monstrous Nightmare.

"How?"

"Oil and silver halide crystals diluted in water. They captured the light from the manganese which in turn captured the image of Snotlout and his inner dragon." Hiccup said with a smirk.

"Denied."

"WHAT!" Everyone in the room including I call out.

"I don't like it." Snot said

"Well I disagree," Gobber defends, "Lets put it to a vote. Those who think Hiccups art should be approved?"

Everyone except Snotlout raises their hand. In response, Snotlout angrily storms out, taking Fishlegs', Ruff's, and surprisingly Tuff's art with him.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N:

Dear ladies and gentlemen, angels and demons, lovelies and flamers,

I realize some of you may be upset because the challenges as of late aren't battle oriented. I'm trying to include a fight within each "day" of training. The teens are here to prepare them. Not only for the tournament but on the chance that they win, whatever challenges may come their way. All that are thoroughly described will have some relevance at some point. If any of you have challenges you really want to see, or fighting styles you want Hiccup to do, please leave them in the comments/reviews. Also, in this chapter there is a "heavy petting" scene. I'll put a line where it stops and ends in case you don't want to read that.

Sincerely,

Beast

Astrid POV

So, Yesterday was, interesting. Now we have to do artsy training because Snotlout got "too injured" during his last fight. Ridiculous. All his limbs are attached, for now. He could still fight if he wanted to. We all ate dinner in our rooms yesterday. Maybe I can get another sparring session with the others today. I walk out of my room decked in my regular clothes and find Hiccup talking to Tuffnut. I walk as silently as I can, trying to listen in.

"So what do you think?" Tuffnut says.

"Well, they are mostly about dominance so the harem thing he said was true. Though there were some Stokers in my village that settled down with only one mate." Hiccup responds.

"The polyamory doesn't bother me. Its if you think he'd go for a guy."

"I have absolutely no idea." Hiccup sighs. "What do you think Astrid?"

I wasn't shocked that Tuffnut wasn't surprised by my presence, I was within his field of vision. I was to Hiccup's back though. "How'd you know I was here?"

Hiccup gestures to his nose. "Sense of smell remember. Also you have a very distinct dragon aura. There aren't too many Nadders in the castle and yours gives off a very distinct yellow and blue tint."

"Are you trying to say you can see dragon auras?" I ask astonished. It is a coveted skill amongst mages, you can always tell what dragon magic an opponent will use and they're said to be the most beautiful things in the world.

Hiccup only nods in response. "I also have no need to imagine what you look like without clothing."

I blush and can't decide whether to strike him or to cover myself. "What! Are you serious!?"

"No, of course not. I do get the occasional vision of the future though... " He blushed. "Anyway what do you think?"

"About what?" I say putting my arms down.

"Do you think Snotlout would go for me?" Tuffnut says.

I hadn't really thought about it. All his flirtations gave me the impression that he was super hetero. I suppose he could be bi. Maybe the whole flirting thing was just overcompensation and he was scared to admit it. I know that there are people within all the tribes who are homophobic. I also know that it's widely unaccepted in a lot of Stoker clan. He seemed to like Tuff's painting of him. Though he could just be vain like that. Is it possible…

"Hello?" Hiccup says waving a hand in front of my face.

I break out of deep thought and smack his hand away. "I don't know. I suppose you won't find out until you ask him yourself. I just suggest you approach it very gently and gradually. It could offend his whole macho thing."

Tuffnut gives a small smile in response. "Thanks Astrid," he says and walks off in the direction of the mead hall.

"You want to train today since we have art week?" I say trying to desperately change the subject away from relationships.

Hiccups stomach growled. "After breakfast?" he smiled. It was wide and dopey. Kind of cute. What. No. Not cute. Innocent. And Stupid.

"Yeah, sure thing." I say. We walk into the hall together and once again the normal conversations are replaced by whispers.

_He came with the Nadder girl._

_Isn't she the heir apparent to her clan? Do you think they're together? _

_No Way! Lucky fool. _

_Do you think he's good in bed?_

_Maybe she just has a thing for exotics. _

_There go my chances. _

_Will he choose Nadder Clan so they can mate?_

How stupid are these people if they forget that Dragon mages have superior hearing? Before I can yell at the lot, Hiccup grabs my hand and does another magical sprint towards Sven. I feel the breath leave me again. I really should get used to that if we're going to be training together for a while. Sven hands Hiccup his usual bucket of fish. We then take a sharp turn and then head for the door again. I blink and we're back in the training hall. I turn to Hiccup ready to chastise him for leaving me hungry, to see he's got a plate in the same hand as the arm holding his barrel on his shoulder.

I reach up to see what he's holding only to realize he is still holding my hand. He lets go after I give him a look. I then reach up and smack him upside the head. This makes him drop his barrel.

"What was that for?" he squeals.

"Your perverted remark earlier and for yanking me around the mead hall."

"Sorry." He says putting his head down, "I'm not good ignoring people's whispers. Too many memories."

I sigh. It is not easy to stay mad at him. His tragic past isn't fun to deal with. "Fine you get off easy for that but still," I say giving him another whack, "I don't like being teased like that."

"Fair enough." He says handing me the plate. Chicken and rice, just like I had yesterday. It isn't that I mind. Chicken is my favorite. We sit there and eat for a while. My god. I had no idea that someone could eat so many fish so fast. Hiccup also ate them raw and whole. I tried to hold in my disgust. Apparently I failed.

"Not used to a voretotist?*" Hiccup asked.

"Um. What is that?" I asked back.

"Someone who eats food whole." Hiccup explained.

Shit. I guess that wasn't a good enough ruse. "Uh, (cough laugh), no, not really." I say tucking some hair behind my ear.

There are special receptacles around the palace for the return of dishes and utensils. Special professors of dragon mages and their various magicks have noticed that a lot of mages move around with their food so it was decided that the whole "bins everywhere" thing was a good idea. I grabbed my plate and placed it in Hiccup's barrel. Then I dragged it over I and placed it by the bin. When I turned around Hiccup was standing there.

Gods. I have got to learn that whole shadow step of his. Maybe if I play nice he'll teach it to me.

"Wanna see something cool?" He asked playfully. He has a nice smile. It's not toothy but you can see a faint glimmer from his pearly whites.

"Uh, sure." I say apprehensively.

Hiccup proceeds to widen his smile and pull out a small pouch. "Guess what's in here." He says.

It appears to hold several loose objects. They aren't round. Bumpy? No, just oblong. "I don't know. Rocks?"

"Nope." He states excitedly. He then unties the pouch and it unravels to reveal a handful of strawberries. My favorite.

"Where did you get those?" I asked in anticipation. "I thought they didn't grow anywhere near here."

"They don't." He giggled. "I found them while I was out for the challenge yesterday."

I looked at the bundle and couldn't help but wonder. "Can I have some?"

"I knew you were a strawberry kind of gal." He replied.

"What makes you say that?" I ask.

"You aren't too fond of sweet stuff, so I figured that something tart if more your thing."

"And how'd you know I don't like sweet."

"Didn't you get kind of sick from the smell of Gobber's mead."

"Yeah but, I didn't think any one noticed." I say defeated. I reached for a strawberry only to have the pouch pulled away from me.

"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast." Hiccup says playfully. "I want something first."

This was stupid and childish. I wasn't so fond of strawberries that I'd play this stupid game… but there is no harm in hearing his demands I suppose.

"Fine. What is it?"

"I want to teach you something."

Now interested. "What?"

"Have you ever pulled off a partial transformation?"

No. No way. No freaking way. Transformations. Even partial ones. That's a nearly impossible feat. However, if he could actually teach me.

"No. I haven't. Can you?"

He raises a cocky eyebrow.

"Or course you can." I sigh. "So. If you get to try to teach me, then I get some strawberries?" I honestly saw no downside.

"I wouldn't reach you now, there others will be here soon and trying to do it then would only make them even more restless." He explained. "I want your word to meet me every morning until you learn it."

"... For a handful of strawberries…"

"Who said this is all I have?" He smirked.

Oh, he's good. "Fine. You have your self a deal, and my word." To officially seal it I offer him a bow.

"No need to bow milady" He said offering me the pouch. We then just layed down and are strawberries. It was… nice.

After we finished I recalled something from the mead hall. "What did they mean, will he choose Nadder?"

"The King gave me three options. After the year is up I can, join in the tournament and try to become a warrior of the court, I can join a clan and choose a fighting style, or I can give it all up."

"He asked you to take a rite?"

"A what?"

"Right. Outlander. We in the kingdom are asked to take a rite at the age of ten. Learn the same style as our parents, learn a different one and join the corresponding clan, or become a scale-less."

"One without magic."

"Yeah. That remains an option afterward."

"Really?"

"Yeah." An eerie silence laid between me and the rest of my thought. "My mom did it."

Hiccup gave me a look. One that said he wanted to know more but wouldn't push it. I never talk about her but for whatever reason I felt like I had to tell him.

"After my dad died, my mom was lost. She was a Nadder yes but, after I was born she became more of a hand maiden. Real girly girl and everything. She couldn't exactly handle his death, or me. I was daddy's little girl. After he was killed I called for war along with so many others. That just wasn't her any more. So she abandoned magic and me. Left. I don't know where she is, maybe some other kingdom or something. I hope she's happy wherever she is."

Another long silence. After some time, Hiccup spoke up. "My dad threatened to do the same thing… sort of."

"What do you mean?" I say blinking away the threat of tears that came with anytime I talk about my mom.

"My dad was born to be chief. Everyone loved him, he was strong and wise. Perfect leader type. You remind me of him in that way." I almost want to blush at such a compliment. "However, not everyone was keen on the idea of a Borkian Queen."

"Why?" I say with sudden genuine intrigue.

"Borkian are very open thinkers. We question everything, challenge all rules and regulations, nothing is certain for us. To have someone like that influence their leader scared a lot of the tribe. They told him if he chose to marry her, they weren't sure they could accept him as chief."

I listen with bated breath.

"My dad wasn't one to go down easy. Another way you remind me of him. He said if they couldn't accept the love of his life for who she was, they would run away with all his supporters. They would abandon magic. Create weapons and new ways that challenged Draconian rule. They would destroy the old clan and become a dragon fighter's worst nightmare. A kingdom of dragon slayers."

I can't help but hold my breath. A proclamation like that here would be considered nothing less than high treason. "To make such a claim for a mate. That was true love. "

"Yeah." He responds. I didn't know I said that last part out loud. "I think you are like your father."

I have no idea why he thinks that but I still find joy in the comparison. "Really?"

"Yeah. He was a great enough man where his death caused the people to want such revenge they'd sooner see the queen leave than give up that right to avenge him. Not that that was necessarily a good thing but, you have something like that about you." He turns to face me. "You are strong, brave, and wise. And even though you try to hide it behind that cold look, you care for people more than you imply. You will be a great warrior queen, Astrid Hofferson."

I blush and feel the sudden urge to move closer to him. His eyes are full of sincerity. No lies were in those words. Knowing my past he didn't look upon me with pity but with confidence in my dreams. I didn't really know it before but I think that's what I always wanted. I edge a little closer not fully aware of doing so and he mirrors the motion.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Don't abandon who you are, Hiccup. Not for anyone." I say almost breathless. I have no idea what is happening. Our bodies are edging closer and closer. We are both still on our knees from eating breakfast in that manner. I sit up so we are even in height. We are but a hair away from each other now. I can feel his breathe, cool and inviting on my face. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I place mine on his hip. Finally, as if I had been waiting for an eternity, our lips meet. First the kiss is soft, his lips so warm, tender and inviting. Then the heat between us gets hotter, and the kiss grows stronger, and stronger, and stronger still. Eventually we were locked in a battle for dominance. He licks my lips and almost on instinct I open my mouth, letting him inside. He starts to take the upper hand, and I let him. He slowly leans me backwards until he's lying on top of me. My head starts spinning and I moan into the kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer. His hand moves down my side and then sneaks slowly up my shirt, stopping just before my breasts. I wanted more, so much more. I try and hint at my desires but he seems to ignore them. Having enough with his resistance, I grab his shoulder and pin him beneath me. I lean away from him happy to see that he is as flushed as I am. Now with our bodies aligned in such a way, I can feel his erection through his pants. How he resisted me up until now I don't know. I grab his other hand and place it on my breast encouraging him further. His hands move about as I lean back into him. Our lips meet once more and we hungrily continue. He takes out my braid and I run my hand through his thick hair. I move my other hand under his shirt and begin to remove it, when the door begins to open.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Maybe it was the shock of almost getting caught, or the sudden realization of what was about to happen, but Hiccup and I both pull away from each other before the trespasser sees us.

"Guys! Be careful I dropped a… an…. Huh. I thought it would reach here." Fishlegs says stepping further into the arena.

"What! Fishlegs!" I say full of anger. How dare he interrupt me in the middle of that. I was about to… I was about to… to… have sex…. With… Hiccup. What the.

A cool breeze wafts the arena and I suddenly realize what truly just transpired. I blush furiously and so does Hiccup.

"Sorry! Tuffnut told me if I made him an aphrodisiac for something he would get me an in with his sister. I warned him not to shake it too much because that made it more potent. Clearly he didn't listen! I had to go to Gobber and tell him about it. They got an antidote ready and had the Timberjack and storm cutters spread it throughout the palace. I hope whatever he was using it for was worth all the trouble he is going to be in."

Hiccup and I give each other a knowing look. Not just that we could never speak of what we almost did but also of what we knew was the cause of this. Snotlout.

Gobber and Ruffnut came in and we all waited for Snotlout and Tuffnut. Tuffnut came in with Snotlout chasing after about 15 minutes later…

**Snotlout's Room approximately 30 minutes ago**. Tuffnut POV

I knocked lightly on Snotlout's door. Potion in hand.

"Come in." I heard from the other side. I slowly opened the door and put the potion on the desk just inside the door. I was not a stranger to the offering of one's flesh but, for whatever reason this time felt different.

**A/N: **

***I totally BS'd that term. Vore means to consume. Totius means whole. **

**The next chapter will get yaoi smut between Tuffnut and Snotlout. I'll do the same bar thing I did for the stuff here if you don't want to read it.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, Angels and Demons, Lovelies and Flamers…, I rewrote this chapter… I still feel dirty. **

**Snotlout's Room approximately 30 minutes ago**. Tuffnut POV

I knocked lightly on Snotlout's door. Potion in hand.

"Come in." I heard from the other side. I slowly opened the door and put the potion on the desk just inside the door. I was not a stranger to the offering of one's flesh but, for whatever reason this time felt different.

Maybe because Snotlout wasn't mystery clan. There, sex was a normal part of life. A craving that needed to be satiated every once in awhile. Snotlout was stoker clan. They believed affection and love were signs of weakness. Something about his large arms and rugged features made me want to pursue the nightmare boy.

"What do you want Tuff?" Snotlout grunts as he lifts some makeshift weights. He is lying on the desk bench, lifting a long bar with sacks of grain on each end. He is wearing his usual faded brown pants and no shirt. Either out of the desire to lessen restraint or to torment his guest, I did not know.

I was forced to bite my lip to stop myself from saying what I truly desired. Stick to the plan. "Can I ask you a bit of a personal question?" I say walking over to the bed. I see that on the wall hidden by Snotlout's wardrobe is my painting. I figured Snotlout probably wasn't actually that big but flattery can get you anywhere.

"What is it?" Snotlout asks sitting up from the bench. He sees that I have noticed the painting and blushes. He does his best to not look embarrassed but it was not working.

"So you know how Mystery clan is very free with our sexuality and what not." Snotlout nods in response. "What do you think about people who aren't exactly straight?" My eyes on the door in case this goes wrong.

Snotlout glances between me and the painting. He gets a look on his face that is reminiscent of a toddler doing simple math. His face becomes a visage of realization. "Oh!" He says suddenly uncomfortable. "Oh." He repeats softer. "Um..." He says stroking the back of his neck. "It really depends on who is in charge." He sighs. "Red death is against same sex relationships. However, the leader before her, Green Death, was approving. I was born under Green Death's reign so I can follow his laws as opposed to hers. However, she could still banish me for it. But since I'm here she has no power..." Snotlout begins rambling.

"So what do you think?" I interrupt.

"Me?" He asks dumbfounded.

"Yes, you."

"I, uh, I guess I'm okay with it."

"And is it something you would partake in?" I say leaning in closer.

"Uh. I mean. The rules of a harem are purely domination based. I guess I could if I could still remain dominant. My father would disown me if I was a submissive stoker. He doesn't exactly like any of them since my mom left. It wasn't all her fault. My dad's a bit of an ass. DON'T TELL HIM I SAID THAT!" Snotlout says grabbing my arm.

"I promise I won't..." I say apprehensively. "So as long as you stay dominant right?"

"Yeah I guess..." He says leaning back from me.

"Then be dominant..." I say in a breathy whisper. I lean ever so gently in and hovered above his lips.

Snotlout takes my bait and closes the space between us.

I see his tightly shut eyelids and can't help but roll mine. This is my domain now and I have the know how to make him think this is still his idea.

I lightly place my hand on his still sweaty one and lick his bottom lip. Our mouths open and I invite him inside. His tongue peeks inside and tickles the roof of my mouth. I smile and deepen the kiss. As he gains more confidence, Snotlout's tongue explores me further. I lightly grab his wrist and place it on my shoulder. As I lean back onto the bed it gives the impression that Snotlout is pushing me into the bed. He is a surprisingly good kisser. I break the kiss and look at Snotlout. Partially for permission and partially for confirmation of how into this he is. Although I could have just waited a few seconds for him to shift his weight and feel his erection press against mine.

This is where I lose my sense of control.

Snotlout pulls my shirt over my head and it snags on my arms. I dont think it was his original intention but now, he seemed pretty into it. He kisses my sides, my arms, my chest. Then he focuses on all my tender bits. First he attacks my neck and I can't remain quiet. Why is it that no one focuses on the neck anymore. It's a bunch of nerves tied together so close to the brain. His kisses turn into bites, and his bites are soothed with more kisses. I mewl and cr out. Each new sensation being a refreshing break from the nonsense ive more or less gotten used to. My legs stretching and my toes curling, i was moaning like a bitch and loving every minute of it.

I guess he thought my neck had enough after a few marks were bound to be made. Then he moved down to my nipples. If he was another Mystery clan, I would have stopped him there and warned him not to start something he couldn't finish. But he wasn't, and I didn't. Instead my kicking got more violent. My hands broke free and I used the to bring him closer to me, encouraging his licking, and twisting my nipples between his teeth.

I felt like some inexperienced virgin. I was almost finished and we hadn't even made any hints at the main attraction. Wanting to make this last as long as possible, I lift his head with my hands and stare at him.

What a picture I must have been, panting, sweat glistening off my brow, pulling Snotlout closer to me for a kiss. That kiss turned into two and then eight, and then we were making out. His hands ran up my back. His hands were so warm, so tender. When they ran up my spine, they left a chill in their wake. I gasped out and he placed his hands on my hips and pulled us closer together.

I don't know how long we were making out but it was heavy enough to make me lose track of things. A thunderdrum could be belting outside and I wouldn't have noticed. Once I regain composure I push Snotlout back off. "What do you want to do next?" I say grabbing his crotch and pretending that he held dominance.

"You seem to know more about this. You tell me."

I laughed. Based on his performance so far, I could make a serious argument otherwise. I mean, I don't know who he's been sleeping with, but this has been amazing so far. One of the best times I've had in…, ever. He must have had some practice. I mean there is no way he's a…, no, No way. "Come here."

I take off his shirt and throw it… somewhere. I get us to sit up and kiss while i run one hand through his hair and use the other to explore his gorgeous body. I felt through the ridges of his abs, along the edges of his biceps, groping them, teasing them. I claw at his back when he bucked into me, clearly getting impatient.

Deciding I'd want my satisfaction soon too, I grab the front of his pants tentatively, giving him time to stop me.

.

.

.

He dosen't.

I open them up and his strained dick finds its way out. My painting might have been a bit oversized in the genitals but not by too much. Releasing my member as well, I never leave his lips. Expertly grabbing both of our thickness in my hands, I jerk us off, pressing our dicks together. He pushes me to the bed and starts excitedly humping my hands, putting more and more friction between our dicks. The impact of the bed from my fall broke apart our kissing. His face was one of the best things I d seen in awhile. His eyes locked onto me, his lips red and puffy from my kisses, his brow sweaty, his jaw slack, locked in pleasure.

I smile up at him as he brings us both closer and closer to the end.

Our good times were interrupted by the rattling of the wooden door panels around the castle. Snotlout froze, his member still wrapped in my hands. I try and remove my hands slowly but Snotlout was clearly closer or more sensitive than I was. He mewled in pleasure and opted for rolling off of me as opposed to letting me remove myself.

Getting up and off him to investigate the interruption I hear a faint whimper, full of desperation for me to return. Smiling to myself, I turn as the rattling reaches us and a rush of cool air hit our sweaty bodies. I turn back to Snotlout and feel a cool wave of fear. I look at him and see he is as flushed and excited as I was my first…. Oh my Gods.

"Snotlout." I say full of apprehension and regret. All I receive is an incoherent grunt in response.

"Are you a virgin?"

He swings his legs around so they are hanging off the bed. "Uh…, yeah."

"Aw, shit." I say grabbing the tatters that used to be my shirt. I turn towards the door and start to make my exit.

"Where are you going?" I hear from behind.

Mortified and sexually frustrated I run to him and project that into my voice. "I'm leaving. You are a virgin and I very much pressured you to do this. I can't have that on my conscience. God, you have a thing for Astrid, you have a homophobic dad AND home, you probably wouldn't have done any of this if I hadn't provoked you. I should have just-"

I was cut off by a forceful kiss that was more like a face mashing. Snotlout grabs the sides of my face and talks to me in a calm but forceful tone. "Listen, I may be new at this but I could have said no at any time. I am still then stoker and still the dominant partner. Just like you chose to seduce me, during this I decided you'd be part of my harem and right now, I'm fine with a harem of one." He pauses for a moment letting the ramifications of what he just said sink into both of us. He starts again, calmer, "Astrid is the farthest thing from my mind right now. All I want is to mate with you and keep you by my side forever. Right now I would do it, even if it meant becoming a scaleless and abandoning my clan." He pulls me into a tight hug. "Maybe that is my penis talking or maybe it's me, but I know that right now, I'm not letting you go."

I stop the threat of tears crashing against my eyes and hear Snotlout sniffling to do the same. The last thing I want is full blown crying during sex. So I decided to show my affection the way I know best...

No.

No. I- not now. I- I can't.

"Wait," I say pulling Snotlout off of me. He's clearly still emotional. Excuse, excuse, I need an excuse… what time is it? Shit, class. Wait, no. This is a good thing. Yay, class. "Class is going to start soon." Snotlout looks out his window at the horizon, realizing how long we've been here.

"Yeah, we should probably shower and change into clothes that are still intact." He said, clearly disappointed.

Great now I feel bad, but I couldn' deal with all this new information just yet. Wanting to make sure he understood there was no bad blood between us, I kissed his cheek and he smiled back at me.

With that I left the room and entered my own, gathering the things I needed for washing. When I exited, I saw a frustrated Snotlout in a towel down the hall. The large cleaning chambers were down the hall and no one but us was here. The rest were either at breakfast or getting to training.

Nothing too eventful happened, we showered in separate areas and did not interact besides a three second meeting of our eyes as we left the bathing chambers.

Now clean, He and I got dressed, and headed towards the arena. Before we entered, Snotlout pulled me aside, "Hey, listen." He called, "I don't know how word travels here so can we keep our whatever, a secret, for now."

Really? "Uh yeah, sure." I thought that whatever ramifications of being together would be out of the way by now. I know I'm not leaving after the training. Moving to the capital is me and Ruff's only chance at survival. I just thought he'd stay too. Stoker doesn't like my kind right now. Why would he stay? I just- I don't know.

Before I knew what was happening I was storming into the arena ten minutes late and Snotlout was chasing after me.

"Well how nice-

**ASTRID'S POV**

-of you two to join us." Gobber exclaims "Yer late."

Tuffnut is the one to apologize. "Sorry Gobber." He turns to Snotlout. "It won't happen again."

"Well alright then. Snotlout. Did you do the exercises that the doctors asked you to?"

Snotlout and Tuffnut are in some sort of staring match. Snotlout responds, "yeah, that and then some."

In response Tuffnut shows the faintest of blushes along with his clear irritation in Snotlout. What were they doing?

"Any regrets or concerns?" Gobber continues oblivious of the tension between the two boys.

"I regret nothing." Snotlout says finally removing his gaze from Tuffnut. Tuff's eyes linger on Snot for a moment.

"Alright then. Listen. This means that today we will be continuing with our regularly scheduled training. Today let's focus on fighting Boulder clan enemies. Does anyone, NOT FISHLEGS, know the typical weaknesses of the boulders?"

Hiccup and I raise our hands simultaneously. I send him a look and he returns it by defiantly raising his hand higher.

"Astrid?" Gobber recognizes.

I smirk and say, "Food. Boulder clan summons fireballs from the eating and partially digesting rocks and, well, boulders. Destroy it or guard it, then take them out." I finished, satisfied with my show of knowledge.

Hiccup, however, keeps his hand raised.

"Hiccup, you have more?" Gobber said.

"High pitched frequency. Boulders have a keen ear for it so if you can make one then… they get very irritated and more or less unable to fight." Hiccup informed.

"What do you mean, high pitched frequency?" I asked.

Hiccup began whistling. Then the pitch raised higher, and higher, and then, I couldn't hear it. But Gobber and Fishlegs began to scream hellaciously. Once he stopped it took them a second to adjust.

"Damn, boy! Little warning next time!" Gobber exclaimed.

"Sorry," Hiccup said halfheartedly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Aye, the frequency thing works too." Gobber said. "Okay! These next few days we'll focus on the Boulder clan and their fighting style. Today will be magic type versus magic type. Tomorrow will be hand to hand. The day after will be weapon vs weapon. As you know the type of fight varies so if you fail any of these then you will need remediation. Before anyone asks, each clan teaches different techniques to their young regardless of magic style. Boulder clans are typically about grapples and using their weight to their advantage. Fishlegs' Gronkles should be no different than someone else's Whispering Death in that way. Any questions?"

Eyes fluttered across the room.

"No? Good!" Gobber confirmed. "Everyone, get in position!"

**_Time Skip_**

Boulders were strewn across the room and Fishlegs sat in the middle, concentrating. Hiccup was facing his back. I was to his left and Ruffnut to his right. On my other side was Snotlout who hadn't taken his eyes off Tuff the entire time. It seemed that Tuff was doing everything to ignore him.

"Alright. Everyone ready?!" Gobber called from his place in the stands.

No one spoke.

"Begin!"


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Ladies and Gentlemen, Lovelies and Flamers, Angels and Demons…**

**I still feel dirty. I'm GAY and I still feel dirty after writing that chapter. SO, I decided to rewrite it with more implied than expressed sexual content. If you want to try it now you can but I won't judge you otherwise. Also there is some role reversal in this chapter but I feel like you all will forgive me. **

At the start of Gobber's challenge, Fish ran at the Tuffnut. He must have realized that taking out the team who was inexperienced in individual combat was the best decision. Clever. However, he should have accounted for the bigger threats in the room. I look at my surroundings and count four rock piles. Perhaps I could take him out before he got to them but having someone take them out would have been nice.

Since this isn't a weapons bout, I had to make do without my daggers. Focusing all I could with the sounds of battle around me, I slid my hands down my hair. Starting at my forehead, I slid my hand back until I was close to the ends of my hair. I imagined it thickening, hardening, sharpening. As I finally progressed I felt the spike. The entire process took around two seconds. It was a high level Nadder spell. Some Nadders could summon spikes without the sacrifice of their hair. I however was not one of them. It did TECHNICALLY count as a transformation, so even I wasn't too upset about my inability. With Hiccup's help perhaps that would soon change.

As I exited my trance, I saw that Fish had reached the Tuffnut, and the twins had reached each other. Tuffnut had grabbed Ruff's arm and Fish barreled through them. Before they could recover Fish turned around and fired a rock blast at each of them. Ruff blocks to reduce damage but it's still a clean hit. Tuffnut doesn't recover in time to block but… Snot ran in the way and blocked it. Since he had to run and leap to get there in time he couldn't brace for the recoil. His body got knocked back into Tuffnut and they both collapsed. A large boom from an explosion echoes through the room.

As I turn to see the source I hear Gobber below, "RUFF, Tuffnut, Snotlout! You're out! Get off the field when you can!"

The noise was Hiccup blowing up a rock pile. I was suddenly happy he was here. Nadder fire is more powerful in short range. The plan in my head was forming quickly… Got it.

"Hiccup! Keep it up! I'll keep him up close!" I yelled. I waited for him to start his nod and then ran as close to Fish as I could. Nadder spikes were strong as steel. I knew that, Fish knew that. I grip the blunted center of the dual conical blade as tight as I could. As I go for a downward strike Fishlegs moves his arm up and blocks. When the blow lands sharp pain shoots through my wrist and I hear another explosion. The recoil knocks the smooth weapon out of my hand.

_**Stone skin- **__The ability used by boulder clan that turns their skin into a stone like armor._

I knew it was a possibility that Fish had it mastered but I was hoping I'd manage to catch him off guard. I grasp my wrist and see the Ruff and Tuffnut got Snotlout off the ground and into the stands. I turn back to Fish and see him clasping his stone skinned hands and reeling up to smash me. I lean out of the way just in time. As his hands crash down, the noise is amplified by the explosion on my other side.

Fishlegs looks up and seems to realize what's going on. He continues to cover himself in stone as he stands up and runs to the last rock pile. I stand up and give chase. I glance over at Hiccup and our eyes meet in silent understanding.

"Gobber!" he yells. The old man covers his ears and Hiccup's whistle sounds through the room.

As Fishlegs collapses, only one thing comes to my mind. _We take no prisoners, we show no mercy, we don't make peace, we don't miss. _The code my uncle instilled in me after my father died. No, not died, murdered. My father was murdered, stabbed in the back by one he once called friend. Before I knew what was happening. My spike was in my hand once again and I had it pierced into soft flesh. Not into Fishlegs' neck where it was aimed, but into Hiccup's arm. I looked up and saw Hiccup, his expression worried, hurt, and scared.

"Astrid?" He said, his voice just above a whisper. I unclenched my jaw and loosened muscles I didn't know I had. I released my grip on my spike and fell backwards. No one broke the eerie silence until we all heard Fishlegs whimper. He looked petrified in this stone form. His spell released instantaneously as opposed to the slow growth that it formed in. Hiccup looked down at the quivering form. "You okay, Fish?" The only response was more whimpering. "Ruff! Grab him!"

After a few seconds of silence Ruff got up and climbed back into the arena. My eyes were yet to leave Hiccups wound. His arm hadn't moved from the defensive spot above Fishlegs. After Ruff coaxed Fishlegs out of the way, he finally moved. He came closer and I moved my eyes from his arm to his face. His eyes were steely cool. His face was emotionless. Stoic, unmoving, unyielding.

"Astrid," he spoke. Those eyes, those deep green eyes. I didn't know if he was about to speak prophecy or threaten my life. "Breathe."

As if he spoke the magic words, I released a breath I hadn't realized was being held. "Thanks." I managed to gasp out.

"Don't thank me." He retorted, his voice filled with vile.

"Hiccup! I'll call for the healers." Gobber called.

"Don't bother." Hiccup responded. He grabbed the spike and I reached out to stop him. Again his speed surpassed mine. Blood gushed from the wound.

"HICCUP!" I screamed. What was he doing? Was he suicidal?

"Look at this Astrid. You did this." He told me pointing at his wound. "You harmed an ally because you lost control. Because you forgot the situation. Because you felt like this battle was one you couldn't afford to lose."

He. He was upset with me for losing control. I had my reasons. I had been taught since birth to kill without remorse. And since my father died I was learning in preparation for war. "I was thinking of my father!" I spat at him.

"AND NOW I AM THINKING OF MINE!" Hiccup boomed. I didn't know he was capable of such a voice. "During the battle, that last few minutes that I witnessed. I saw my father die. I saw an axe dig into his back as he clutched my mother in her final moments. She had a spear through her neck. A FUCKING SPEAR! I was so enraged that I killed dozens, without remorse, without mercy. I didn't care if it was man or woman, young or old, weak or strong. Anyone that I didn't recognize from the village. As the battle came to an end I saw something I will never forget. There was a girl in our village. She was a four-year-old refugee from a scaleless village that was burned down, most likely by those that attacked us. She didn't fear me because she knew nothing of me. She didn't know how true of an abomination I am. As I was crushing the throat of a man who was raping the corpses of our women, she looked at me with fear. She was scared, of me or them I didn't know. She called me 'Majima'. I think she was trying to say 'magic man'." Hiccup smiled in quiet fondness of the girl. "She called out to me. I ran for her, but even I wasn't fast enough. The last man I killed, the last one I found on the battlefield, sliced her chest open. Her heart was exposed to the elements, and her fate sealed. I looked into his eyes just before I ripped out his heart and fed it to him. His eyes were blank, determined to take as many down with him as he could." He looked down at me, disappointed. "They were the same as yours."

Hiccup was comparing me to those savages that took his home from him. The foul monsters who slaughtered children without remorse. I looked at myself, covered in the blood of my friend. I wanted to apologize, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. "Isn't that what it means to be a dragon mage? To be strong and unyielding? To be as ferocious as the dragons we have chosen to learn from?"

"Were the dragons, monsters?" He asked me. I looked up at him. His eyes welling up with tears. "Even so, be them Gronkles, Monstrous Nightmare, or Nadder," he said staring me down. "No dragon always goes for the kill. They were strong willed enough to stop themselves." The reservoir breaks and the tears spill. "Look behind you."

I do as he asks and grow confused. It is only the others watching on.

"Call to them."

"Why?"

"You will see."

"Gobber!" I yell. The old man says nothing. "Gobber? Snotlout! Tuffnut!" No one responds. "Wha- What did you do?" I say turning to the mysterious mage.

"Low level coercion spell. My blood is very potent and works for a time. It is still blood though. I have to stay bleeding and all those I wish to control need to be within sight." He explains lifting his wounded arm. The blood is still flowing, but a normal dragon mage would have the wound healed on its own by now, at least somewhat. Hiccup's remained unchanged. "I chose to share my story with you and only you. Don't make me regret it."

With that his knees buckled and eyes overflowed with tears. I have never heard a dragon roar in pain, the closest anyone has come is to listen to a thunderdrum, but I had no doubt Hiccup mimicked it perfectly. As he finished his wound glowed that familiar iridescent purplish blue. It healed almost instantly.

"INFIRMARY! NOW!" Gobber called from behind us. Hiccup lifted his arm. There was a murmuring from the stands followed by Gobber continuing, "Regardless, the wound was deep and might need further attending to. Take Fishlegs and Snotlout with you."

He leaped out of the arena and quietly, as if rushing out with my breath, I said, "I'm sorry."

He and Fishlegs took Snotlout out of the arena and I didn't see them again until dinner. For this I was thankful, Hiccup had given me a lot to think about.

**Hiccup POV**

Once we were in the infirmary, the nurses very quickly let me go. They assumed my supposed wound was a hoax just to stay with my friends. I knew my wounds were fully healed. I needed no help with them. I went to Fishlegs first. His skin was back to normal and he seemed to be fine now that he was out of the arena.

"You okay?" I ask, peeking into the curtain. I find Ruffnut waiting with him.

"Yes, thank you. You saved me I hear." He tries to lean up and Ruffnut punches his chest so hard he falls back on the bed.

"The nurses said bed rest. That means you rest **IN THE BED**." Ruffnut commands.

She reminds me of my mother in this instant. Regardless who was bigger, or stronger, or "in charge", If my father was ill or injured, he wasn't to do anything that the healers didn't recommend. I left silently while they bickered, before the memories turned to mourning, and the mourning brought on tears.

I walked across the aisle and found Tuffnut, holding Snotlout in the bed they shared. More memories came. The morning of the attack, I entered the bedroom of my parents and saw them holding each other in such a way. I was going to ask my mother to join me in collecting herbs for the healers, but I decided to let her be. That was the last time I saw her alive.

I was going to leave them as well but noticed something. The unevenness of his breath, the clear resistance against his natural movement. I could smell the tensions between them before and doubted it was a matter they had settled. It couldn't hurt…

"You know he's awake right?" As I said it both of their eye opened quickly. Before any questions for me emerged, I left and ran right into Camicazi.

"Sorry, Lord Hiccup." She said collecting the bandages she dropped.

I knelt beside her and helped her. "Camicazi, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes?" she said.

"Never call me that again. It's Hiccup. Well, it's actually Henry, but I'll take what I can get." I explained. I wasn't one for nobility.

"If we are being familiar, might I ask for payment from the first favor now?"

"Uh, sure." We stand and she walks me towards the door.

"The infirmary is low in supply of worm root, rosemary, and turmeric. If you could gather supplies, it would help immensely." She said firmly.

"You aren't your normal joking self. Is there a reason?" I ask.

We exit the room and she drops her façade. "Ughhh! The others don't believe in being familiar with you "Young lords". I was never one to show the brownnosing respect the others are so fond of. I would get the supplies myself but I'm restricted to the infirmary for the time being."

"Might I ask why?" I say.

"Totally innocent coincidence with a rapist in the dungeon's genitals and my broadsword." She says nonchalantly.

I look at her incredulously.

"I'm kidding… mostly." She explains. "I was caught beforehand."

"Okay… I'm going to go collect herbs now." I say and run like my life depends on it, because it very well might.

When I return, it is still three hours until dinner. It feels as though days have passed since I slept. Typical really from having used blood magic. The trip around the surrounding areas to gather herbs didn't help either. I decide to rest for the time being, and arrive to dinner with my wits about me.

**Ruffnut and Fishlegs- post Hiccup visit- **

"Why are you here again?" Fishlegs asked. Ruffnut glared at him and he sheepishly continued, "Not that I'm not grateful."

Ruffnut scoffs, "Listen, I don't know how you do in boulder clan, but mystery clan doesn't like to leave our sick unattended. EVER. The magic we use has occasionally drastic effects on our bodies. Sometimes it's as harmless as resistance to certain medicines. Other times it's as harmful as severe immunity problems. My brother and I passed a stomach virus back and forth for two months. It was during that time that we learned we both have a serious tolerance for dragon nip."

Fishlegs questioned, "How did that stomach virus lead to you smoking dragon nip?"

Another scowl. "It's not just for smoking. Mystery clan has found dozens of medicinal uses for dragon nip. Depending on how you grow it or how you prep it, it can have amazing medicinal properties. It can go from soothing anxiety and insomnia to relieving muscular and chronic pain better than ginseng. Since most of our land is mountainous, with humid peaks and swampy valleys, we take what we can get."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Fishlegs states.

Ruffnut can see the sincerity in his eyes. "It's okay, most other clans just see us as a group of reckless, high, idiots."

"You surely don't seem like an idiot." Fishlegs replies. Ruffnut looks up at him and her eyes widen. "Among my people, those with knowledge, be it medicinal, scientific, analytical, or strategical, are seen as the most important. Though the one Screaming Death is our official leader, he was elected as such not because of the terrifying strength he possesses but because of his great mind for war strategy. His spot on the grand council is almost entirely used for planning possible offensives on the enemies of the king."

"Interesting." She replies and a nurse walks in to perform the hourly checkup. "Mystery clan leaders are chosen for displays of magnificence or Immunities. Flightmares tolerance for the otherwise poisonous algae has more or less secured their spot on the throne for generations."

"I find it fascinating that we might be better suited to each other's clans than our own. Creativity used for anything besides the advancement of our clan is seen as a waste of resources. The statue trick from Snotlout's art challenge got me three days in the cells for wasting "ammunition". We live in cavernous mountains, EVERYTHING in sight is possible ammunition. However, you and your brother seemed fascinated by the process."

"I don't know about better suited but that was exciting to watch." Ruffnut replied. "That reminds me, I was meaning to ask you something."

"What?" Fishlegs asked excited to quench someone else's curiosity for once.

"You ever eat out anything other than rock?"

With that innuendo Fishlegs blushed before he was put under. The nurse signaled to Ruffnut earlier that they needed him unconscious for his examination, otherwise he would have activated Stoneskin out of instinct. Ruff followed them and was happy that everything was finished quickly. Fishlegs was eventually asked to stay in the infirmary until dinner time. Until then Ruffnut stayed with him and they just talked for hours. About dragon nip, about clan dynamics, about their homes and their dreams. Fishlegs wanted to stay in the capital and study to become a record keeper. His life becoming the investigation and classifying of powers linked to different styles. Like a theoretical Borkian where Hiccup was considered experimental. Ruff wanted to stay in the capital with her brother because their leader faced accusations from Nadder clan for being a king slayer. Whether it was true or not, they didn't want to be there when the fighting started. Even so, being orphans, they didn't have too many people to stay for. Fishlegs suggested writing journals about the medicinal uses for dragon nip so that the stigma might one day be released. He was comfortable with her, not only because they spoke about subjects in which he found comfort, but because he had no memory of her question before he was unconscious.

As comfortable as the conversation felt, Ruffnut couldn't help but to be left curious for an answer.

**Tuffnut**** and ****Snotlout****\- post Hiccup visit-**

"You know he's awake right?" A familiar nasally voice called from the entrance to the cubicle Snotlout was placed in. Both young men looked up at each other. Knowing that there was all together no reason to deny the truth but still surprised at Hiccups' perceptiveness.

Tuffnut had come to check on Snotlout out of what? Tradition? Closeness? Not wanting to leave his sister alone in the infirmary? No. Snotlout was supposed to be a one time hookup. Nothing serious. One meaningless fuck and it would all be over. Then Snotlout had to go and be an innocent virgin with magic fingers and an actual knack for making Tuff's entire body feel like there was fire going through them, bringing sensations that even he, with his experience in sexual encounters giving him the knowledge of something between a slut and… Okay so maybe he was a little bit of a slut. But it was still some of the best sex Tuffnut's ever had.

Then after coming so close to stealing Snotlout's innocence. Plucking a cherry at the peak of ripeness. He decided, what? It wasn't worth it?

No. Almost the opposite.

Snotlout had proven his worth as a lover. He was Tuffnut's type, he was naturally gifted in Tuffnut's favorite pastime, he was a powerful enough mage to provide for Tuffnut should that time ever come. Yeah, he may be a bit of a cocky bastard but, Tuffnut was convinced that that wasn't really him. It was the front he was more or less forced to put up to fit with his clan. A Stoker wouldn't confess and revel in their virginity instead of getting rid of it as quickly and meaninglessly as possible, but Snotlout did. A stoker wouldn't jump in front of a lava blast for someone who had rejected them, but Snotlout did. A Stoker wouldn't confide his doubts and questions of loyalty to anyone, but Snotlout did. And then what? After showing restraint, something Tuffnut was NOT used to showing, Snotlout didn't want to pursue more? We were in the capital. There was no reason to fear us being judged why would he-

-Come here in the first place? I mean dont get him wrong. Snotlout was SOOO happy to see Tuffnut there. Sure, Snotlout had never considered a male partner. Like ever. His father despised gay people. His leader had made it a law that any found guilty of homosexual relations would be killed for the sanctity of the clan. He thought that he would never be capable of such a despicable act. But then Tuffnut walked into his room. He was his comfortable self with him, not the asshole he was normally. There was no need for a front. He knew that Tuffnut was… something. I mean he had to be right. He was from Mystery clan

…

That wasn't fair. Snotlout was a Stoker who was… not straight. I mean he was in control the entire time. He was able to stop it but, but he didn't. He liked being with Tuffnut. It was just, Snotlout was scared. It was well rumored that Red Death had spies in even the outer reaches of the kingdom. Her extensive resources is what put her in the war circles of the King's council. He wasn't just scared for himself, he was scared for Tuffnut. Whoever was sent, whoever was ordered to kill him, would also be sent after Tuffnut. So sure, more of his fear was residing in concern for Tuffnut's safety. But when that fire ball came flying towards him he couldn't bare seeing Tuffnut hurt and so before he knew what he was doing, he was flinging himself between the lava blast and Tuffnut.

He cared for him and needed a chance to explain, to show his resistance to announce their relationship, at least he thought it was a relationship, had a good reason. But he didn't get it. While laying on the uncomfortable hospital bed, he thought of how he could explain the situation. How he could tell him the truth and not hurt him or scare him off. Then Tuffnut slinked in here. Snotlout was so close to sleep that he wasn't sure if seeing him was real life or a dream. So quietly, eyes mostly closed, Snotlout called out to him. Wordlessly begging him to come closer. When he actually did join him in the bed, Snotlout felt bliss. Why did this feel almost as good as the making out? THis soft cuddling with each other. Doing nothing but listening to one another breathe. Then that bliss was broken when Hiccup came in. Then they were left like this. Looking at each other, waiting. How long had it been now? Five, ten minutes? Finally Snotlout got sick of silence.

"How long are we just gonna stare at each other?" Snotlout said.

Tuffnut couldn't help but laugh, "I don't know."

They kept looking at each other. This time softly and accepting. "I need to explain something." Snotlout said.

"Yeah, you should." Tuffnut confirmed.

So there they laid. While Snotlout explained why. He told him why he was so confused about what this meant about him. He told Tuff why he thought he decided to fall for him. He told him how he couldn't be with him at all times, and how he wished he could. How this would be dangerous and difficult, but Snotlout wanted to make this work. Whatever they were.

Tuffnut listened, and smiled, and almost cried at times. He did become scared, but he wanted to be brave for the both of them. Tuffnut also told him something that Snotlout desperately needed to hear. The capital was a safe place. If he tried as hard as he could, if they both did, they could stay in the capital after the tournament. They would be safe from that wretched "Queen" of his and they could be together.

"Even if we don't stay together, let's promise to stick together and keep each other safe."

The rest of the afternoon was filled with promises much smaller than that, but just as important. They promised to sit next to each other whenever they could. To spend free times together, in someone's room or somewhere public, but not crowded. To assure each other that everything would be okay. T kiss and hug and not let the fear overtake what they wanted from each other as a couple. The last bit had stories of home. Little details about each other. The "getting to know you nonsense" that no one who is not in the relationship ever wants to hear (or read).

There conversation finally ended when a frustrated Camicazi came in to tell them that dinner was ready.


End file.
